Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurio
Bushveld. Grey head, nape and rump; black mask; rufous mantle and back; white underparts.
Shrikes
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common summer visitor. Sexes differ as illustrated. Female differs from immature [Southern (Common) Fiscal] in more rufous upper parts and lack of white wing-bars. Rarely, male occurs with white wing-bars, then resembles Souza’s Shrike but differs in more rufous unbarred mantle and clearer grey cap. Mostly silent; sometimes utters a harsh ‘chak, chak’ when alarmed or a soft scratchy song easily mistaken for that of a warbler. Solitary in a variety of wooded habitats, preferring mixed bushveld and thornveld; most common in the central Kalahari. Perches conspicuously on a low branch and still-hunts. Arrives late Oct–Nov, departs early Apr.
Quick Facts
Size
18 cm - S
Names
A: Rooiruglaksman
Z: umathithibala
Ss: Tshemedi-Kgunong
G: Neuntöter
Bird Family
Insectivorous or partially carnivorous birds with stout, hooked or slightly hooked bills. They are sometimes known as ‘butcher birds' (genus *Lanius* means ‘butcher') because of their habit of sometimes impaling insects or small animals on a thorn or fence wire, returning later to eat. Habitat preference is for open woodland, where they will still-hunt from a perch.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Solitary in a variety of wooded habitats, preferring mixed bushveld and thornveld; most common in the central Kalahari.
