Lesser Grey Shrike
Encyclopedia
The Lesser Grey Shrike is a member of the shrike
family Laniidae.
It is similar in appearance to the Great Grey Shrike
Lanius excubitor and the Southern Grey Shrike
L. meridionalis. It breeds in southeastern Europe
and into Asia
.
This species prefers dry open lowlands, and is prominent on telephone wires.
It is slightly smaller than the Great Grey Shrike, and has a black forehead and relatively longer wings.
This medium-sized migratory
passerine eats large insect
s, small birds and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".
It is a scarce vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain
, usually as a spring overshoot.
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
family Laniidae.
It is similar in appearance to the Great Grey Shrike
Great Grey Shrike
The Great Grey Shrike or Northern Grey Shrike is a large songbird species in the shrike family . It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Southern Grey Shrike , the Chinese Grey Shrike and the Loggerhead Shrike...
Lanius excubitor and the Southern Grey Shrike
Southern Grey Shrike
The Southern Grey Shrike, Lanius meridionalis, is a member of the shrike family.It is closely related to the Great Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, with which it used to be considered conspecific; where they co-occur, they do not interbreed and are separated by choice of habitat.The race L. m....
L. meridionalis. It breeds in southeastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and into Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
This species prefers dry open lowlands, and is prominent on telephone wires.
It is slightly smaller than the Great Grey Shrike, and has a black forehead and relatively longer wings.
This medium-sized migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
passerine eats large insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, small birds and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".
It is a scarce vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, usually as a spring overshoot.