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22

Woodchat Shrike

(Lanius senator)
German name(s): "Rotkopfwürger"
Size: 17-19 cm

Similar
species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Woodchat Shrike at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "senator"

ADULT

MALE

Lateral/ventral view of a male Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Near Kursumlija, South-east Serbia, May 2016]

FEMALE

Near-dorsal view of a female Woodchat Shrike; note the grey mantle, rather than black (photo courtesy of I. Medenica)
[Near Kursumlija, South-east Serbia, May 2016]

Race "badius"

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Woodchat Shrike; note the clean white underparts (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2017]

Near-frontal view of a male Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2018]

Lateral view of a male Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, April 2015]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female(?) Woodchat Shrike; note the buffy underparts, rather than clean white (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Frontal view of a female(?) Woodchat Shrike; note the buffy underparts, rather than clean white (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Lateral view of a female(?) Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Dependent juvenile Woodchat Shrike being fed by a female (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2014]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-dorsal view of an immature Woodchat Shrike that has shed part of its juvenile plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Frontal view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, August 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2014]

Lateral view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, August 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, August 2014]

Dependent juvenile Woodchat Shrike being fed by a female (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2014]

Race "niloticus"

ADULT

MALE

Lateral view of a Woodchat Shrike; note the large white primary wing flash typical of this race; the black forehead and back indicate that this is a male (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Woodchat Shrike struggling to stay on its perch - note the very prominent white primary wing flash
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Behaviour

Just like other shrikes of the genus Lanius, Woodchat Shrikes are known to spike their prey on thorns for future consumption.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

woodshr_jp_20200625.m4a badius
(Portugal)
Warning calls? © JP
woodshr_jp_20180505.m4a badius
(Portugal)
? (+ some bkgd) © JP

More Woodchat Shrike sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.