Lanius tephronotus
The Grey-backed Shrike, *Lanius tephronotus*, is a strikingly marked passerine bird belonging to the shrike family (Laniidae), often dubbed 'butcher birds' for their predatory habits. Measuring around 19-22 cm (7.5-8.7 in) in length and weighing 30-40 grams, its most distinctive feature is its slate-grey back and crown, contrasted by a prominent black mask extending from the lores through the eye to the ear-coverts. The underparts are clean white, sometimes with a faint grey wash on the flank...
This shrike primarily inhabits open scrublands, thorny bushes, degraded forests, clearings, and cultivated areas, often at high elevations in mountainous regions.
Its diet primarily consists of large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, and moths, supplemented with small vertebrates like lizards, mice, and occasionally small birds.
The Grey-backed Shrike is a diurnal and highly territorial bird, often seen perched prominently on a bush, wire, or other vantage point, scanning for prey. Its foraging strategy is typically 'perch-and-pounce,' dropping down swiftly to capture insects or small vertebrates. A remarkable and defini...
The Grey-backed Shrike has an extensive distribution across Asia. Its primary breeding range encompasses the Himalayas, stretching from northern Pakistan through Nepal, Bhutan, and into China (Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan), as well as parts of Central Asia including Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It is lar...
Least Concern
- The Grey-backed Shrike is one of the species known as a 'butcher bird' due to its unique method of impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire, creating a 'larder'. - Despite its relatively small size, it is an efficient predator, capable of taking prey as large as small birds and rodents. - It is a...