Woodchat Shrike
Lanius senator
NTNear Threatened
- Family
- Shrikes (Laniidae)
- Order
- Passeriformes
Overview
The woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It can be identified by its red-brown crown and nape. It is mainly insectivorous and favours open wooded areas with scattered trees such as orchards, particularly when there is bare or sandy ground. The woodchat shrike breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Benin
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Woodchat shrike
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
