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22

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

Europe: Family Group 22 Family Group 22 Table Great Grey Shrike Iberian 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. Race "badius" J. Pires reports spotting Woodchat Shrikes, race "badius", semi-regularly in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, and Montargil, Alentejo, Portugal. 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

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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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 28 February 2022, 6:27 +00:00