Red-backed Shrike

Overview

The red-backed shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia, and it is a migratory species that winters in eastern and southern Africa.

Identification

• Measures 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) in length.
• Males feature reddish upperparts, a grey head, and a typical shrike black stripe through the eye.
• Underparts are tinged pink in males and buff in females and young birds, which also have brown, vermiculated upperparts.
• The tail displays a black and white pattern similar to that of a wheatear.

Habitat

This species breeds in most of Europe and western Asia and winters in tropical Africa. Although listed as a species of 'least concern' globally, it is classified as a UK 'Red List' species after numbers declined sharply during the 20th century.

Diet

It feeds on large insects, small birds, frogs, rodents and lizards. The bird hunts from prominent perches and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a 'larder,' a habit that has earned it the nickname 'butcher bird.'

Did you know?

The common English name 'shrike' derives from the Old English word for 'shriek,' referring to the bird's shrill cry or call.