Woodchat Shrike
A species of Typical shrikes Scientific name : Lanius senator Genus : Typical shrikes
Woodchat Shrike, A species of Typical shrikes
Botanical name: Lanius senator
Genus: Typical shrikes
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Muchaxo , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
The male is a striking bird with black and white upper parts, a chestnut crown and pure white underparts. The race L. s. badius of the western Mediterranean lacks the large white wing patches. In the female and young birds, the upperparts are brown and white and vermiculated. Underparts are buff and also vermiculated. 
Size
19 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Yellow
Red
Gray
White
Life Expectancy
6 years
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Woodchat Shrike preys primarily on large insects, small birds, and amphibians, employing unique hunting techniques that include impaling prey on thorns. This bird's varied diet is captured with agile foraging during active feeding times.
Habitat
Woodchat Shrike's habitat consists predominantly of semi-open landscapes with scattered trees and shrubs, such as open woodlands, orchards, and olive groves, as well as gardens and parks. The species thrives in areas that offer a mix of arboreal cover, open spaces with an ample supply of insects, and high perches for surveillance. Habitually found below 1000 meters elevation, woodchat Shrike may inhabit regions up to 2000 meters, such as Mediterranean oak woodlands. During the winter, woodchat Shrike migrates to dry savannas in Africa, favoring acacia woodlands that mirror the structure of their breeding habitats.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds and amphibians. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder". This species often overshoots its breeding range on spring migration, and is a rare, but annual, visitor to Great Britain. The Balearic race badius has occurred in Britain around four times as a vagrant, and has also been recorded once in Ireland.
Distribution Area
The breeding range of the woodchat shrike is in southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. The range extends from Portugal to Greece, Turkey, Iraq and Iran, and from Mauritania and Western Sahara in northern Africa to Libya. This bird overwinters in tropical central Africa, its winter range extending from Senegal to Sudan and Ethiopia in the east and southwards to Gabon.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
True shrikes Genus
Typical shrikes Species
Woodchat Shrike 
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