Shrike
Encyclopedia
Shrikes are passerine
bird
s 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. Note that the Australasian butcherbirds are not shrikes.
n and Africa
n distribution, with just two breeding in North America
(the Loggerhead
and Great Grey
shrikes). There are no members of this family in South America
or Australia
, although one species reaches New Guinea
. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species like the Great Grey Shrike ranging across the northern hemisphere to the Newton's Fiscal which is restricted to the island of São Tomé
.
They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe
and savannah
. A few species of shrike are forest dwellers, seldom occurring in open habitats. Some species breed in northern latitudes during the summer, then migrate to warmer climes for the winter.
. Their beaks are hooked, like that of a bird of prey
, reflecting their predatory nature, and their calls are strident.
Shrikes are known for their habit of catching insect
s and small vertebrate
s and impaling their bodies on thorns. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently-sized fragments, and serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time. This same behavior of impaling insects serves as an adaptation to eating the toxic lubber grasshopper (Romalea guttata). The bird waits for 1–2 days for the toxins within the grasshopper to degrade, and then can eat it.
Shrikes are territorial
, and these territories are defended from other pairs. In migratory species a breeding territory is defended in the breeding grounds and a smaller feeding territory is established during migration and in the wintering grounds. Where several species of shrike exist together competition for territories can be intense.
Shrikes make regular use of exposed perch sites, where they adopt a conspicuous upright stance. These sites are used in order to watch for prey items and to advertise their presence to rivals.
breeders, although polygyny
has been recorded in some species. Co-operative breeding, where younger birds help their parents raise the next generation of young, has been recorded in both species in the genera Eurocephalus and Corvinella as well as one species of Lanius. Males attract females to their territory with well stocked caches, which may include inedible but brightly coloured items. During courtship the male will perform a ritualised dance which includes actions that mimic the skewering of prey on thorns and will feed the female. Shrikes make simple, cup-shaped nests from twigs and grasses, in bushes and the lower branches of trees.
FAMILY: LANIIDAE
The Prionopidae and Malaconotidae are quite closely related to the Laniidae, and were formerly included in the shrike family. The cuckoo-shrikes are not closely related to the true shrikes.
The Australasian butcherbird
s are not shrikes, although they occupy a similar ecological
niche.
' Hyperion
universe is known as The Shrike
. This character is reported to impale human victims on a tree of thorns.
A shrike known as the 'Butcher Bird' kills the fieldmice newborn babies in the Animals of Farthing Wood.
Stalker Shrike
is a central character in the Mortal Engines
series by Philip Reeve
. The prequel novel Fever Crumb
reveals that all members of his unit are similarly named after birds. North American editions change his name to Grike.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius
Lanius
Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. African species are known as fiscals...
, is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. Note that the Australasian butcherbirds are not shrikes.
Distribution, migration and habitat
Most shrike species have a EurasiaEurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n distribution, with just two breeding in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
(the Loggerhead
Loggerhead Shrike
The Loggerhead Shrike is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic....
and Great Grey
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...
shrikes). There are no members of this family in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
or Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, although one species reaches New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species like the Great Grey Shrike ranging across the northern hemisphere to the Newton's Fiscal which is restricted to the island of São Tomé
São Tomé
-Transport:São Tomé is served by São Tomé International Airport with regular flights to Europe and other African Countries.-Climate:São Tomé features a tropical wet and dry climate with a relatively lengthy wet season and a short dry season. The wet season runs from October through May while the...
.
They inhabit open habitats, especially steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
and savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...
. A few species of shrike are forest dwellers, seldom occurring in open habitats. Some species breed in northern latitudes during the summer, then migrate to warmer climes for the winter.
Description
Shrikes are medium-sized birds, up to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) in length, with grey, brown, or black and white plumagePlumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
. Their beaks are hooked, like that of a bird of prey
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
, reflecting their predatory nature, and their calls are strident.
Behaviour
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 and small vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s and impaling their bodies on thorns. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently-sized fragments, and serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time. This same behavior of impaling insects serves as an adaptation to eating the toxic lubber grasshopper (Romalea guttata). The bird waits for 1–2 days for the toxins within the grasshopper to degrade, and then can eat it.
Shrikes are territorial
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, and these territories are defended from other pairs. In migratory species a breeding territory is defended in the breeding grounds and a smaller feeding territory is established during migration and in the wintering grounds. Where several species of shrike exist together competition for territories can be intense.
Shrikes make regular use of exposed perch sites, where they adopt a conspicuous upright stance. These sites are used in order to watch for prey items and to advertise their presence to rivals.
Breeding
The shrikes are generally monogamousMonogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
breeders, although polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
has been recorded in some species. Co-operative breeding, where younger birds help their parents raise the next generation of young, has been recorded in both species in the genera Eurocephalus and Corvinella as well as one species of Lanius. Males attract females to their territory with well stocked caches, which may include inedible but brightly coloured items. During courtship the male will perform a ritualised dance which includes actions that mimic the skewering of prey on thorns and will feed the female. Shrikes make simple, cup-shaped nests from twigs and grasses, in bushes and the lower branches of trees.
Species in taxonomic order
- Genus: Lanius
- Tiger ShrikeTiger ShrikeThe Tiger Shrike or Thick-billed Shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is...
, Lanius tigrinus - Bull-headed ShrikeBull-headed ShrikeThe Bull-headed Shrike is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the shrike family Laniidae.It is 19-20 cm long. The male has a brown crown, white eyebrow and black mask. The back is grey-brown while the wings are dark with a white patch. The flanks are rufous and the rest of the...
, Lanius bucephalus - Red-backed ShrikeRed-backed ShrikeThe Red-backed Shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae.English common names include 'Wariangle' and 'worrier'.-Description:...
Lanius collurio - Isabelline ShrikeIsabelline ShrikeThe Isabelline Shrike is a member of the shrike family . It is the eastern equivalent of the Red-backed Shrike with which it used to be considered conspecific....
Lanius isabellinus - Brown ShrikeBrown ShrikeThe Brown Shrike is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the Red-backed Shrike and Isabelline Shrike . Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye...
, Lanius cristatus - Burmese ShrikeBurmese ShrikeThe Burmese Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam....
, Lanius collurioides - Emin's ShrikeEmin's ShrikeThe Emin's Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda....
, Lanius gubernator - Souza's ShrikeSouza's ShrikeThe Souza's Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family. It was named after J.A. de Souza, a 19th century Portuguese zoologist....
, Lanius souzae - Bay-backed ShrikeBay-backed ShrikeThe Bay-backed Shrike, Lanius vittatus, is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes, resident in South Asia.-Description:It is smallish shrike at 17 cm, maroon-brown above with a pale rump and long black tail with white edges. The underparts are white, but with buff flanks.The crown...
, Lanius vittatus - Long-tailed ShrikeLong-tailed ShrikeThe Long-tailed Shrike or the Rufous-backed Shrike is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes. The eastern or Himalayan race, L. s...
Lanius schach - Grey-backed ShrikeGrey-backed ShrikeThe Grey-backed Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam.-References:...
Lanius tephronotus - Mountain ShrikeMountain ShrikeThe Mountain Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family. It is endemic to the Philippines.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...
or Grey-capped Shrike, Lanius validirostris - Lesser Grey ShrikeLesser Grey ShrikeThe 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...
Lanius minor - Loggerhead ShrikeLoggerhead ShrikeThe Loggerhead Shrike is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic....
, Lanius ludovicianus - Great Grey ShrikeGreat Grey ShrikeThe 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...
or Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor - Southern Grey ShrikeSouthern Grey ShrikeThe 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....
Lanius meridionalis - Chinese Grey ShrikeChinese Grey ShrikeThe Chinese Grey Shrike is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-External links:*...
, Lanius sphenocercus - Grey-backed FiscalGrey-backed FiscalThe Grey-backed Fiscal is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitats are dry savanna and...
, Lanius excubitoroides - Long-tailed FiscalLong-tailed FiscalThe Long-tailed Fiscal is a species of bird in the shrike family Laniidae. The species is closely related to the more widespread Grey-backed Fiscal and is sometimes placed in a separate subgenus, Neolanius, with that species...
, Lanius cabanisi - Taita FiscalTaita FiscalThe Taita Fiscal, Lanius dorsalis, is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa, from southeastern Sudan and southern Ethiopia to northeastern Tanzania. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland.-Description:...
, Lanius dorsalis - Somali FiscalSomali FiscalThe Somali Fiscal is a species of bird in the Laniidae family.It is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...
, Lanius somalicus - Mackinnon's ShrikeMackinnon's ShrikeMackinnon's Shrike , also called Mackinnon's Fiscal, is a songbird species of the family Laniidae.It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitats are...
, Lanius mackinnoni - Common FiscalCommon FiscalThe Common Fiscal is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also sometimes named Fiscal Shrike, as well as Jackie Hangman or Butcher Bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption. It is sometimes split...
, Lanius collaris - Newton's Fiscal, Lanius newtoni
- Uhehe Shrike, Lanius marwitzi
- Woodchat ShrikeWoodchat ShrikeThe Woodchat Shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae.The Woodchat breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground.This migratory medium-sized...
, Lanius senator - Masked ShrikeMasked ShrikeThe Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in western Iran. It is a common species in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Syria...
, Lanius nubicus - Steppe Grey Shrike, Lanius pallidirostris
- Tiger Shrike
- Genus: Corvinella
- Yellow-billed ShrikeYellow-billed ShrikeThe Yellow-billed Shrike is a small passerine bird in the shrike family. It is sometimes known as Long-tailed Shrike but this is to be discouraged since it invites confusion with the Long-tailed Shrike, Lanius schach, of tropical southern Asia.The Yellow-billed Shrike is a common resident breeding...
, Corvinella corvina - Magpie ShrikeMagpie ShrikeThe Magpie Shrike , also known as the African Long-tailed Shrike, is a species of bird in the Laniidae family...
, Corvinella melanoleuca
- Yellow-billed Shrike
- Genus: Eurocephalus
- White-rumped ShrikeNorthern White-crowned ShrikeThe Northern White-crowned Shrike or White-rumped Shrike, Eurocephalus rueppelli, is a shrike found in dry thornbush, semi-desert, and open acacia woodland in east Africa from southeastern Sudan and southern Ethiopia to Tanzania...
, Eurocephalus rueppelli - White-crowned Shrike, Eurocephalus anguitimens
- White-rumped Shrike
Birds with similar names
Other species, popularly called "shrikes," are in the families:- PrionopidaeHelmetshrikeThe helmetshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. These birds were included with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, later on split between several presumably closely related groups such as bushshrikes and cuckoo-shrikes , but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated...
, helmetshrikes. - MalaconotidaeBushshrikeThe bushshrikes are smallish passerine bird species. They were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but are now considered sufficiently distinctive to be separated from that group as the family Malaconotidae....
, puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras and boubouLaniariusLaniarius is a genus of brightly coloured, carnivorous passerine birds commonly known as boubous or gonoleks. Not to be confused with the similar-sounding genus Lanius, they were formerly classed with the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, but they and related genera are now considered...
s. - CampephagidaeCuckoo-shrikeThe cuckooshrikes and allies in the Campephagidae family are small to medium-sized passerine bird species found in the subtropical and tropical Africa, Asia and Australasia...
, cuckoo-shrikes.
The Prionopidae and Malaconotidae are quite closely related to the Laniidae, and were formerly included in the shrike family. The cuckoo-shrikes are not closely related to the true shrikes.
The Australasian butcherbird
Butcherbird
Butcherbirds are magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus. They are native to Australasia. Their closest relatives are the three species of currawong...
s are not shrikes, although they occupy a similar ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
niche.
Use in literature
A central figure in Dan SimmonsDan Simmons
Dan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
' Hyperion
Hyperion Cantos
The Hyperion Cantos is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. Set in the far future, and focusing more on plot and story development than technical detail, it falls into the soft science fiction category...
universe is known as The Shrike
The Shrike
The Shrike is a character from Dan Simmons' Hyperion universe, set far in humanity's future.The Shrike appears in all of the Hyperion books and is something of an enigma; its true purpose isn't 'revealed' until the second book, but even then it is left a malleable purpose. In fact, this explanation...
. This character is reported to impale human victims on a tree of thorns.
A shrike known as the 'Butcher Bird' kills the fieldmice newborn babies in the Animals of Farthing Wood.
Stalker Shrike
Shrike (Philip Reeve)
Shrike is a recurring character in Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines Quartet and Fever Crumb Series. He appears in all the books except Predator's Gold and A Web of Air....
is a central character in the Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines is the first of four novels in Philip Reeve's quartet of the same name, which is also known as the Hungry City Chronicles in the United States...
series by Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve is a British author and illustrator. He presently lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah and their son Samuel.-Biography:...
. The prequel novel Fever Crumb
Fever Crumb
Fever Crumb is the prequel to the Mortal Engines Quartet by Philip Reeve, released in 2009. A sequel called A Web of Air was released in April 2010.-Plot synopsis:...
reveals that all members of his unit are similarly named after birds. North American editions change his name to Grike.
External links
- Shrike videos on the Internet Bird Collection