- Lanius minor
Identification
19–23 cm (7½-9 in)
Adult
- Grey upperparts
- Black wings with large white primary patch
- White sides to black tail; tail not conspicuously long
- Salmony-pink underparts
- Black facial mask includes the forehead
- Bill black
Juvenile & first-winter
- Faintly barred on fresh juveniles; barring lost by early autumn
- Black facial mask does not include forehead
- Underparts whiter, not pink-tinged
- Bill pinky-grey with blacker tip
Similar Species
Great Grey Shrike and Iberian Grey Shrike: longer tail, and in adults within range, the facial mask does not extend up to the forehead.
Distribution
Breeds in eastern and southeastern Europe (north to eastern Poland, and locally west to Lleida in northeast Spain) and east into central Asia, wintering in southern tropical Africa (south to northern South Africa). Formerly more widespread, including breeding in most of France and north to southern Belgium; of conservation concern. The now tiny Spanish breeding population is being bolstered by reintroduced captive-bred birds.
It is a scarce but regular vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain, usually as a spring overshoot.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Dry open lowlands.
Behaviour
Diet includes large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
- Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Lesser Grey Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lesser_Grey_Shrike
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
