Great Grey Shrike

How to identify

Field marks

1. Black mask from the bill base through the eye to the ear-coverts
2. Upperparts pearl-gray
3. Wings black with white wing patches; scapulars white
4. Tail black, long and pointed, with white outer edges to the outer tail feathers

Male, female and young

Sexes differ little in appearance; female has grayer underparts, often with gray-brown barring, and fewer white patches on the wings and tail.

Voice

Male gives short, melodious warbles interspersed with clear whistles; alarm call is a long, sharp, hoarse whistle, “trrii”.

Similar species

Chinese Grey Shrike

Chinese Grey Shrike is larger, with much more extensive white on the wings and tail.

Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike is smaller and shorter-tailed; the black patch above the bill is large, almost reaching the forehead, with no white supercilium; in flight, its black tail tip is broad rather than pointed.

Where and when it's recorded

Great Grey Shrike has been recorded at 783 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 78 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Private estate near Green MubazzarahUnited Arab Emirates3,129 records
2. Tal Chhapar SanctuaryIndia1,132 records
3. Wamm FarmsUnited Arab Emirates1,116 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Arab EmiratesIndiaIsraelMoroccoPolandCzechiaKuwaitPalestinian Territories

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with a number of large, similar-looking parapatric relatives.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions