Birdsong field guide
Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurio
A medium-sized, predatory passerine known for its hooked bill and the male's striking chestnut-red back and black eye mask.
What it sounds like
A harsh, scolding 'chak-chak' alarm call and a quiet, continuous warbling song often incorporating mimicry.
Field notes
- Earned the nickname 'Butcherbird' due to its habit of impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire to create a 'larder'.
- Males exhibit a blue-grey crown and a bold black 'Zorro' mask, while females are more subtly brown and scalloped.
- It is a long-distance migrant, performing a 'loop migration' that takes it through East Africa and the Middle East.
- Despite its songbird classification, it possesses a powerful, hawk-like notched beak used to dispatch large insects and small vertebrates.
- The species often mimics the songs of other birds within its complex, warbling sub-song.
Habitat
Open sunny countryside with scattered thorny bushes, scrubland, and heathland.
Range
Breeds across Europe and Western Asia; winters in Southern Africa.
Similar & commonly confused birds
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