Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurio
Overview
Red-backed Shrike in Georgia
The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a small bird in the shrike family. According to 2024 records, it nests in Georgia and is also seen there during migration. It was recorded in Lagodekhi Reserve between 2000 and 2004. People have also seen and photographed it in other parts of Georgia. It is about 17 cm long. An adult male has a grey head, a black mask-like stripe around the eyes and a chestnut back. Females and young birds are much browner. It chooses open areas with shrubs and branches from which it can look around. It spends the winter in Africa. Globally, it is considered to be at low risk of extinction.
Identification
How to identify Red-backed Shrike
This shrike is about 17 cm long. Its strong beak has a hooked tip. The male has a grey head, a black stripe across the eye and a chestnut-brown back. Females and young birds are browner and speckled, so identifying them takes more care.
The adult male has a gray upper head and neck, a black “mask” around the eye, and a chestnut-colored back. Its underside is pale. The tail is dark, with white visible along the sides. The tip of its strong beak curves like a hook.
The female is brown on top. She may have fine, dark lines on her breast and sides that look like scales. Young birds have these markings over more of their bodies. A bird may still belong to this species even if it lacks the male’s bright colors.
The red-headed shrike (Lanius senator) has been confirmed in Georgia. Adults have a reddish-brown top of the head and noticeable white patches on the wing. Male common shrikes have a gray head and a chestnut-brown back. Young shrikes are hard to tell apart by color alone, so look at several features together.
Distribution
Habitat and range
In Georgia, this bird is found during the breeding season and while migrating. It is also listed among the birds of Lagodekhi Reserve for 2000–2004. The records selected for the map include at least one sighting from each of the 12 regions. This confirms that the bird has been seen in every region, but it does not mean it is evenly distributed throughout each region or nests in all of them. It is usually found in open or partly open areas with shrubs, hedges and woodland edges. It often builds its nest in thorny bushes. When hunting, it perches at a raised lookout, such as the top of a bush or a wire, and uses nearby open ground.
Where the Red-backed Shrike is recorded in Georgia
464 field records · 2011–2026 · 12 regions
The map uses public, photo-backed iNaturalist observations of the Red-backed Shrike in Georgia. One retained record is enough for confirmed regional status, but does not imply occurrence throughout that region. Obscured, imprecise and contradictory locations were excluded; record counts do not measure population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
Records by region
Biology
Diet, behavior, and conservation
Diet
It mostly catches large insects and other animals without backbones. Sometimes it also hunts small animals with backbones, including lizards and rodents. It often watches for prey from a spot with a good view, then catches it on the ground or in the air. Sometimes it pins its prey on a thorn. This helps it divide large prey into pieces and store food.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Red-backed Shrike.
Yes. According to the 2024 national list, it nests and is also seen during migration. It is also included in the 2000–2004 list for Lagodekhi Nature Reserve.
It is found in open and partly open areas with shrubs, along forest edges, and in fields bordered by hedges. The map’s table has records for all 12 regions, but a single marked location does not show that it occurs throughout a region or nests there. There is also an old record from Lagodekhi Nature Reserve.
It nests in Georgia and can also be seen passing through during migration. The warm months and migration periods are good times to look for it. It spends the winter in Africa, south of the Sahara.
The male has a grey head, a black stripe by the eye and a chestnut-brown back. The female is brown, often with fine, dark, scale-like lines on her underside.
An adult bird is generally about 17 cm long. This is not an average measured separately in Georgia.
It mainly catches large insects and other animals without backbones. Sometimes it also catches small animals with backbones. It may attach its prey to a thorn and eat it later.
Globally, this species is considered to face a low risk of extinction.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia, Sandgrouse 46
- საქართველოს მთავრობა — ლაგოდეხის დაცული ტერიტორიების მენეჯმენტის გეგმა
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Lanius collurio
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center — Birds of Europe, Red-backed Shrike
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin — Naturblick, Neuntöter
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — eBird, Woodchat Shrike
- BirdLife International 2024 — Red-backed Shrike
- Русское общество сохранения и изучения птиц — Обыкновенный жулан
- İzmir Kuş Cenneti — Kızılsırtlı örümcekkuşu
- iNaturalist — Lanius collurio, საქართველოს საჯარო დაკვირვებები
- xeno-canto XC1024825 — Sauro Giannerini, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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