Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach)

OTHER NAMES: Rufous-backed Shrike
Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") schach (onomatopoeic based on call)

Adult Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) at Oxfordshire, UK - July 2026

Featured Subspecies: Unknown, though erysthronotus would seem most likely
Weight: 33-52g  /  Length: 20-25cm  /  Wingspan: 30-35cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A widespread resident of Southern and Central Asia, although not present in much of mainland South East Asia or Borneo.  They are a fairly visually diverse species with some species having a typical shrike "bandit mask" while some subspecies have much more vivid colours and the black extends into more towards being a full "cap". This bird on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border is only the third ever reported in the UK, thought fascinatingly the second arrived just a week prior and their stays overlapped, a bizarre coincidence for such a rare species!
 
Related Species: 
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius

SUBSPECIES: L. s. erythronotus, L. s. caniceps, L. s. tricolor, L. s. schach, L. s. longicaudatus, L. s. bentet, L. s. nasutus, L. s. suluensis, L. s. stresemanni 

 
- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - An extremely rare vagrant.

A vagrant bird seen on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border is only the third ever UK record of this species, one being here at the same time

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology:  Lanius ("to tear to pieces") nubicus ("of Nubia")

Adult male Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus) at Side, Antalya, turkey - April 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 20-23g  /  Length: 17-18.5cm  /  Wingspan: 24-26cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The smallest of all the true shrikes, the masked shrike has a very limited breeding range along the Aegean Sea and the Levant, as well as a seperate population which exists in a narrow band through Iraq and Iran, while they breed in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a smaller species, they primarily hunt insects, but have also been recorded taking smaller bird species.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

TURKEY  - Turkish: Alaca örümcek kuşu ("Pied Shrike")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - Several birds near Side. 

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") cristatus ("crested")

Adult female Brown Shrike (subspecies L. c. cristatus) at Florican Grassland Reserve, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Lanius cristatus cristatus
Weight: 27-37g/kg  /  Length: 17-20cm  /  Wingspan: 23cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Brown Shrike is the common shrike of East Asia, a bird that is fairly in keeping with the standard look of shrikes and unusually, a lot less colourful than the species found in Europe.  It's a migratory species, breeding in the North of the continent and moving to the south, where I saw it - one in each of Cambodia and Singapore.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
SUBSPECIES: L. c. confusus, L. c. cristatus, L. c. lucionensis

 - Sighting Locations -

SINGAPORE - A reasonably common Winter migrant.

 - SINGAPORE/CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP: Single bird at Lower Pierce Reservoir.

CAMBODIA - Khmer - ចាបដូនតាខ្នងត្នោត ("Brown backyard ?")

- A reasonably common Winter migrant.

- MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Single bird at Florican Grasslands

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)

OTHER NAMES: Woodchat 

Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") senator ("senator")

 Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator)  near Side, Antalya, Turkey - March 2025

Featured Subspecies: Lanius senator senator

Weight: 25-35g  /  Length: 17cm  /  Wingspan: 26cm

NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

This handsome little bird is found throughout the Mediterranean and occassionally found as a vagrant most years in the UK.  It is fairly distinctive from the other European Shrikes - with bold chestnut markings on the head and no distinctive back colour unlike the other species.  Luis spotted this bird perched on a wire as we were driving along the road towards Patones.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Subspecies: L .s senator, L. s. badius, L. s. niloticus

 - Sighting Locations -

SPAIN - Spanish - Alcaudón común ("Common Shrike")

Widespread in low densities.

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Single individual seen on a wire near Torrelaguna.
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Individuals seen at various points including El Pardo and the roads approaching Monfrague. 

TURKEY  -   Turkish:Kızıl başlı örümcek kuşuu ("Red-headed shrike")
 - ANTALYA 2025 TRIP - Common in the coastal area near Side.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis)

OTHER NAMES: Iberian Grey Shrike

Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") meridionalis ("southern")

Adult Southern Grey Shrike (subspecies L. m. meridionalis) on farmland near Madrid, Spain - June 2015

Featured Subspecies: Lanius meridionalis meridionalis
Weight: 56-80g  /  Length: 24-25cm  /  Wingspan: 30-34cm
ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Southern Grey Shrike was formerly considered a subspecies of the Great Grey Shrike which it is visually very similar to.  However, studies discovered that where the two co-exist they don't interbreed and live in different habitats.  Unlike in the UK Shrikes are fairly widespread resident and so for it's country is much easier to see, if still fairly scarce.  There are a number of fairly specific details that can be used to differentiate between the two species, however, as the Great Grey isn't found in Spain, it is fairly safe to identify Grey shrikes as this species.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Subspecies: L. m. meridionalis, L. m. koenigi, L. m. algeriensis, L. m. elegans, L. m.               leucopygos, L. m. aucheri, L. m. theresae, L. m. buryi, L. m. uncinatus, L. m. jebelmarrae, L. m. lahtora

 - Sighting Locations -

SPAIN - Spanish - Alcaudón reál ("Royal Shrike")

Widespread breeding resident in low densities.

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: One bird seen on farmland in the vicinity of Madrid (dozens of Summer plumage birds)
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: A number seen briefly from moving vehicles en-route to various locations in Castille-La-Mancha and Extremadura


Further Notes:BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

OTHER NAMES: Northern Shrike

Latin Etymology: Lanius ("to tear to pieces") excubitor ("sentinel")

Adult Great Grey Shrike (subspecies L. e. excubitor) at Lowick, Northamptonshire - January 2014

Featured Subspecies: Lanius excubitor excubitor
Weight: 56-79g  /  Length: 23-24m  /  Wingspan: 30-35m
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The larger of the two Shrike species consistently found in the UK, the Great Grey Shrike is theoretically more numerous than the Red-backed, but took me longer to track down.  In its favour, the Great Grey does   actually stay in the UK during the Winter, and some sites it even occurs at annually - Thursley Common most notably. However, actually tracking down this bird at those sites isn't necessarily reliable; I made two unsuccessful visits to Thursley via long convoluted trips using both trains and buses before I ended up catching this species a few miles away from my house in Northamptonshire.  It seemed a lot more mobile than the Red-backed I saw and was moving up and down a fairly long hedge, presumably searching for the prey that they (in)famously impale on thorns as a larder.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Featured Subspecies: L. e. excubitor, L. e. homeyeri, L. e. leucopterus, L. e. sibiricus, L. e. bianchii, L. e. mollis, L. e. funereus, L. e. invictus, L. e. borealis

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Rare Wintering species (average of 63 individuals)

 - A single bird in Lowick in the Winter of 2014.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

OTHER NAMES: Butcher bird

Latin Etymology: Lanius ("butcher") collurio (a bird mentioned by Aristotle)

Adult Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) at Capo Murro di Porco, Sicily, Italy - May 2018

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 25-35kg  /  Length: 16-18cm  /  Wingspan: 24-27cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Red-backed Shrikes are the smaller of the two shrikes which regularly turn up in the UK - they used to be a breeding species in the UK but became extinct as a breeding bird in 1989.  It is however making a small comeback and breeding pairs have been recorded again in recent years.  My first sighting, like the majority of its species seen in this country, was presumably a passage migrant. A second bird I saw later was in Sicily, which is more within their usual range. Although they are passerines, shrikes are predatory and notable for the way they store their prey in "larders" which consist of thorny bushes on which they impale their small animal food.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Laniidae
Genus: Lanius
Subspecies: None - monotypic

UNITED KINGDOM - A rare passage migrant and occassional breeder

 - A single passage migrant bird at Hayes in July 2012

ITALY - Italian - Avèrla Piccola ("little shrike")

 A passage migrant
 - SICILY 2018 TRIP - A single bird at Capo Murro di Porco

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-Canto  
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