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Isabelline Shrike

Crows, Drongos, Orioles & Shrikes

Photo: egorbirder · CC BY 4.0

Lanius isabellinus

Basic stats

Diet

Large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards

Habitat

Open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes

Range

Breeds from the Caspian Sea to north and central China; winters in Africa and Arabia

The isabelline or Daurian shrike is a shrike with pale sandy plumage, the isabelline colour that gives it its name, and a red tail. Young birds can be told from young red-backed shrikes by the much sparser fine barring on the underparts. It was formerly treated as the same species as the red-backed and red-tailed shrikes (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes, across a wide area from the Caspian Sea to north and central China, and migrates south for the winter. It hunts from prominent perches, taking large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards, and impales prey on thorns or barbed wire as a larder (Wikipedia, general species account).

Quick answers

What does the Isabelline Shrike eat?
Large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards
What habitat does the Isabelline Shrike live in?
Open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes
Where is the Isabelline Shrike found?
Breeds from the Caspian Sea to north and central China; winters in Africa and Arabia
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