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==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
[[Image:IMG 8831anr.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|IanF|IanF}}<br />Coatham Wood, Longnewton, [[County Durham]], [[UK]], February 2012 ]] | [[Image:IMG 8831anr.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|IanF|IanF}}<br />Coatham Wood, Longnewton, [[County Durham]], [[UK]], February 2012 ]] | ||
| − | Northern [[Dictionary_P-S#P| | + | Northern [[Dictionary_P-S#P|Palearctic]], Holarctic, and Oriental regions. |
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
Was formerly considered conspecific with [[Southern Grey Shrike]]. | Was formerly considered conspecific with [[Southern Grey Shrike]]. | ||
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==Behaviour== | ==Behaviour== | ||
====Diet==== | ====Diet==== | ||
| − | Diet includes small mammals and birds and it often stores uneaten prey by impaling it on thorns. This habit has earned it the nickname "butcher bird". They commonly hunt from a very high perch usually a tall tree top. | + | Diet includes large insects, small mammals and birds and it often stores uneaten prey by impaling it on thorns. This habit has earned it the nickname "butcher bird". They commonly hunt from a very high perch usually a tall tree top. |
====Vocalisation==== | ====Vocalisation==== | ||
====Song==== | ====Song==== | ||
Revision as of 23:23, 25 July 2014
Alternative name: Northern Shrike
- Lanius excubitor
Identification
22-26 cm
Adult
- Grey head and back
- White belly, throat and chest
- Black wings with white patch
- Medium-long tail black with white outer feathers
- Black mask on face
- Distinctive stout, hooked bill
Juvenile
- Barred brown below
- Brownish wash above
Distribution
Northern Palearctic, Holarctic, and Oriental regions.
Taxonomy
Was formerly considered conspecific with Southern Grey Shrike.
Subspecies
This is a polytipic species consisting of nine subspecies[1].
:
European Group
- L. e. excubitor ': Western and northern Europe to western Siberia
- L. e.r homeyeri': Balkan Peninsula to southern Ural Mountains and western Siberia
- L. e. leucopterus: Western Siberia to Yenisey River
Asian Group
- L. e. sibiricus: Eastern Siberia to northern Mongolia and Kamchatka Peninsula
- L. e. bianchii: Sakhalin and southern Kuril Islands (northern Japan)
- L. e. mollis: Russian Altai and north-western Mongolia
- L. e. funereus: Western China (Tien Shan Mountains)
American Group
- L. e. invictus: Northern Alaska to extreme northern British Columbia and Alberta
- L. e. borealis: Eastern Canada (Quebec and northern Ontario); winters to north eastern US
Habitat
Upland forests and bogs.
Behaviour
Diet
Diet includes large insects, small mammals and birds and it often stores uneaten prey by impaling it on thorns. This habit has earned it the nickname "butcher bird". They commonly hunt from a very high perch usually a tall tree top.
Vocalisation
Song
A complex and variable medley of short liquid trills, whistles, chatter and harsh notes and often mimic the calls and songs of other birds such as Blue Jays, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, and Song Sparrows.
<flashmp3>Lanius excubitor (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Call
A harsh shek-shek, grating jaaeg, rapid rasping aak...aak, a sharp metallic beek.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Great Grey Shrike. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Great_Grey_Shrike
External Links
This link searches for Great Grey Shrike
