Laniidae – Shrikes

Laniidae (Shrikes & Fiscals) is a carnivorous passerines family. It is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of by far the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for ‘butcher’, and some shrikes are also known as ‘butcherbirds’ because of their feeding habits – catching prey and using a thornbush as a larder with prey items impaled on its thorns. The larders act as both a food store and an attractant to females. The common English name shrike is from Old English scrīc, alluding to the shrike’s shriek-like call.

Most shrike species have a Eurasian and African distribution, with just two breeding in North America (the Loggerhead and Great Grey shrikes). No members of this family occur in South America or Australia, although one species reaches New Guinea. The shrikes vary in the extent of their ranges, with some species such as 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 shrikes 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.

Shrikes are medium-sized birds with grey, brown, or black and white plumage. Most species are between 16 cm and 25 cm in size, however, the genus Corvinella with its extremely elongated tail feathers may reach up to 50 cm in length. Their beaks are hooked, like those of a bird of prey, reflecting their predatory nature, and their calls are strident.

Mackinnon’s Shrike Lanius mackinnoni	Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina
Long-tailed Fiscal Lanius cabanisi	Magpie Shrike Urolestes melanoleucus
All photographs on this page courtesy of ©Dubi Shapiro unless otherwise attributed

Shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling their bodies on thorns, the spikes on barbed-wire fences, or any available sharp point. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently sized fragments, and, as its primary purpose, serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time. However, it is also thought to be for males to display their fitness and the quality of the territory held to prospective mates, as the impaling behaviour increases during the onset of the breeding season. Female shrikes have been known to impale prey, but primarily to assist in dismembering prey. Moreo er, this behaviour may also serve another purpose, as an adaptation to eating the toxic Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera, as birds wait a couple of days for the toxins within the grasshopper to degrade before eating it. Shrikes, at least the Loggerhead Shrike, deals with its vertebrate prey by impaling their neck with its beak and then shaking them violently.

Taita Fiscal Lanius dorsalis

Red-tailed Shrike Lanius phoenicuroides

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 shrikes 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 to watch for prey and to advertise their presence to rivals.

Shrikes are generally monogamous 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 performs a ritualised dance which includes actions that mimic the skewering of prey on thorns, and feeds the female. Shrikes make simple, cup-shaped nests from twigs and grasses, in bushes and the lower branches of trees.