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Tiger Shrikes Had the Highest Feather Arsenic and Cadmium; Brown Shrikes Also Had Elevated Lead

Juvenile tiger shrike perched on a branch
Research · Ecology

A 2026 ecotoxicology study in northeast China measured cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc, copper and manganese in tail feathers from ten terrestrial predatory bird species across four families. The aim was to compare exposure among species and assess whether the concentrations indicated potential ecological risk.

Tiger shrikes had the highest arsenic and cadmium

Tiger shrike (Lanius tigrinus) had the highest arsenic concentration, averaging 54.4 mg/kg, and the highest cadmium concentration at 5.5 mg/kg. Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) was also among the more contaminated species and had elevated lead, averaging 33.6 mg/kg. The authors interpret the pattern as evidence that shrikes in the family Laniidae may be particularly susceptible to metal and metalloid contamination.

Most species exceeded at least one comparison threshold

Across all ten species, every species except long-eared owl (Asio otus) had at least one feather concentration above a toxicity threshold used for comparison in the study. The authors treat these exceedances as indicators of potential ecological risk; they are not direct measurements of poisoning or population-level effects.

Pollutant concentrations also differed between little owl (Athene noctua) and long-eared owl despite similar feeding behaviour, which the authors interpret as evidence of species-specific sensitivity. Stable-carbon-isotope values, used here as an indicator of feeding habitat, further suggested that birds associated with habitats showing lower δ¹³C values may experience greater exposure to metals and metalloids. The study concludes that anthropogenic metal contamination poses a potential ecological risk in northeast China and calls for stronger control of metal emissions.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mtemi, W. M., Zhou, X. M., Xu, Y., Mgelwa, A. S., Liu, S., Xu, Q., & Jiang, A. (2026). Ecotoxicological assessment of metal and metalloid contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 90(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-025-01175-0Primary peer-reviewed study published online 7 January 2026. Tail feathers from ten terrestrial predatory bird species in northeast China were analysed for Cd, Pb, As, Zn, Cu and Mn. Tiger shrike had the highest arsenic and cadmium residues; brown shrike also showed elevated lead, and all studied species except long-eared owl exceeded at least one reported toxicity threshold.

Image: DChai21 — juvenile tiger shrike photographed at Eng Neo Avenue, Bukit Timah, Singapore, 24 February 2014; Flickr/Wikimedia Commons; representative image of one of the study species · CC BY 2.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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