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Bird Sightings : Hebrides : Red-backed Shrike

 

Awaiting image for this species

 

Red-backed Shrike

Ficedula parva

 

• Red-backed Shrike
• Lanius collurio
• UK: RED LIST. 227 records a year BTO
• UK: Scarce Breeder (0-5prs) , Passage Visitor
• WI: Very rare passage visitor (less than 5 records)
• Breeds: Europe, Asia
• Winters: South of breeding range to Africa
• Habitat: Open woodland, scrub, savanna, farmland
• Diet: Perches on tops of bushes, fence posts, wires etc, watching for prey which they will store in their larder impaled on a thorn or stuck into a fork. (hence the name butcher bird). Mainly insects (prefers beetles). Small mammals, birds, reptiles
• Approximately size of house sparrow, but slimmer. Male unmistakable bluish-grey head, black mask, bright chestnut back, thick hooked black bill.
• Listen to a Red-backed Shrike (RSPB site)
• Similar birds: Brown Shrike, Isabelline Shrike

 

Red-backed Shrike records in the Western Isles

Very rare passage visitor (less than 5 records)

The chart below shows how abundant the Red-backed Shrike is during a month or when you are more likely to see it.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D

(Source: Outer Hebrides Birds Checklist)

 

 

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