Lanius excubitor
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Mass
~65 g
Habitat
Shrublands
Diet
Small vertebrates
How to recognize it
The Great Gray Shrike has a calm, watchful look and a habit of sitting upright in the open for long stretches. What stands out most is not flashiness but the way it holds still, scanning from a perch as if it owns the view.
It favors high points such as treetops, poles, and lone posts, then drops quickly onto prey with a direct, decisive flight. Its voice is sharp and shrill, and when alarmed it gives a long whistle that is easy to remember once you hear it.
It lives in open country with trees or shrubs nearby, especially woodland edges, grassland, steppe, and forest-steppe. It mainly eats small rodents, but will take other available prey too, and sometimes stores extra food by impaling it on thorns or wire. Many populations move south for winter, though some stay put in milder areas.
Quick Facts
The Great Gray Shrike has a calm, watchful look and a habit of sitting upright in the open for long stretches. What stands out most is not flashiness but the way it holds still, scanning from a perch as if it owns the view.
It favors high points such as treetops, poles, and lone posts, then drops quickly onto prey with a direct, decisive flight. Its voice is sharp and shrill, and when alarmed it gives a long whistle that is easy to remember once you hear it.
It lives in open country with trees or shrubs nearby, especially woodland edges, grassland, steppe, and forest-steppe. It mainly eats small rodents, but will take other available prey too, and sometimes stores extra food by impaling it on thorns or wire. Many populations move south for winter, though some stay put in milder areas.
