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Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) German name(s): "Rotkopfwürger" Size: 17-19 cm; wing span 25-28 cm Body mass: 28-45 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.15-0.23

Europe: Family Group 22 Family Group 22 Table Great Grey Shrike Iberian Grey Shrike Lesser Grey Shrike Woodchat Shrike Red-backed Shrike Eurasian Golden Oriole Eurasian Magpie Iberian Magpie Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Woodchat Shrikes are small shrikes. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Woodchat Shrikes have a reddish-brown crown and nape of the neck, with a broad black facial mask covering frons, lores and the sides of the head, including the ear coverts. Their front, from chin and lower cheeks down to the undertail coverts, is white to off-white, possibly with pale-yellow hues on the flanks. The mantle and back are near-black, while the rump is light-grey. The uppertail is black, with white outer edges. The black wings show a broad white shoulder patch and a smaller patch below it, at the base of the primaries. Females have no yellowish tints on the flanks, but some fine light-grey vermiculation on their front instead, and a more greyish back than males. Overall, the colour contrast between front and back is less pronounced. Both sexes have dark-brown irises, a short, hooked dark-grey bill and grey legs and feet. Juveniles have a vermiculated grey head and front and their back and eye stripe are brownish-grey. The scapulars are also brownish-grey, but with light centres, resulting in a strongly scalloped appearance.

Taxonomy, classification See Woodchat Shrike at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Woodchat Shrike is available HERE . Woodchat Shrikes are a strongly migratory species. Their breeding range extends from the north-western and central northern African coastal fringe through most of Iberia into southern Mediterranean Europe, parts of Asia Minor, the southern side of the Caucasus mountain range, the East coast of the Mediterranean Sea and further eastward into Iraq and on into southern to central Iran. Woodchat Shrikes spend the northern winters across the entire width of the continent in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the southern third of Yemen, plus the far south-western corner of Saudi Arabia. While on migration they can be found basically anywhere between breeding grounds and winter quarters, i.e. northern Africa, parts of the Middle East and in Arabia. In Europe Woodchat Shrikes are found as breeding migrants in Iberia (except the western, near-coastal part of Portugal), southern France, the Alps, Italy (except the Po river downs) and around the Adriatic coastline into near-coastal Greece and along the western Black Sea coastline up to the Danube delta. They are also found on basically all Mediterranean islands and also sometimes farther inland, e.g. in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. During the breeding season Woodchat Shrikes stay in rather open country with scattered trees, shrubs or in copses. They have also developed a preference for open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees interspersed with open areas, often with patches of sandy ground.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "senator" S. Cuturilov and I. Medenica report spotting a Woodchat Shrike, nominate race "senator", near Kursumlija, South-east Serbia, in May 2016. Another was found by A. Sarok in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. J. Pires reports spotting Woodchat Shrikes, race "senator", semi-regularly in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, and Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal. Race "badius" D. Wilczynska reports spotting a Woodchat Shrike, race "badius", in western Sardinia in June 2016. Race "niloticus" We have not seen a Woodchat Shrike, race "niloticus", in Europe yet. D. Wilczynska reports spotting one in Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Caucasus, in June 2018.

Photos

Race "senator"

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Woodchat Shrikes are notoriously hard to sex in the field. We base our comparison here on clear-cut cases. The male Woodchat Shrike shown on the left has high colour contrast in its facial mask and almost no buff on its lores. The female has less colour contrast and more extensive buffy lores.

MALE

Lateral view of a male Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

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 S. Cuturilov)
[Near Kursumlija, South-east Serbia, May 2016]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Woodchat Shrike looking sideways; note the extensive buffy frons
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Near-frontal view of a female(?) Woodchat Shrike (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]

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]

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Woodchat Shrike looking sideways; despite the extended buffy frons, because of the high colour contrast and the clean-white underparts this may be a male (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

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

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)
[Albufeira do Monte do Porto, Arraiolos, Evora, Portugal, June 2024]

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

Lateral view of a juvenile Woodchat Shrike with a deformed bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2022]

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 "badius"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Distant near-frontal view of a Woodchat Shrike (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Western Sardinia, June 2016]

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

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

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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