View source for Woodchat shrike

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Woodchat shrike
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn | author = BirdLife International | year = 2022 | title = ''Lanius senator'' | volume = 2022 | article-number = e.T22705095A209744544 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22705095A209744544.en |access-date = 14 October 2022}}</ref>
| image = Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator senator).jpg
| image_caption = Female ''L. s. senator'' in Spain
| range_map =LaniusSenatorIUCN.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''L. senator''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} 
| taxon = Lanius senator
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
}}

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 [[Maghreb|northwest Africa]], and winters in tropical Africa.

==Taxonomy==
The woodchat shrike was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Lanius senator''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=94 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727001 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his description on the "red headed butcher-bird" that had been described and illustrated in 1734 by the English naturalist [[Eleazar Albin]] in the second volume of his ''A Natural History of Birds''.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Albin | first1=Eleazar | author1-link=Eleazar Albin | last2=Derham | first2=William | author2-link=William Derham | year=1734 | chapter=The red headed Butcher-Bird | title=A Natural History of Birds: Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life | volume=2 | page=15, Plate 16| location=London | publisher=Printed for the author and sold by William Innys | chapter-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41130583 }}</ref> Linnaeus mistakenly specified the [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] as "Indiis". This was corrected to the River Rhine in Germany by [[Ernst Hartert]] in 1907.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Hartert | first=Ernst | author-link=Ernst Hartert | year=1903 | title=Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna | volume=1 | language=German | location=Berlin | publisher=R. Friedländer und Sohn | page=434 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14030241 }} Although dated 1903 on the title page, the section containing page 434 (Heft 4) was published in March 1907. See page xiii and: {{ cite book | last1=Dickinson | first1=E.C. | author1-link=Edward C. Dickinson | last2=Overstreet | first2=L.K. | last3=Dowsett | first3=R.J. | last4=Bruce | first4=M.D. | year=2011 | title=Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers | location=Northampton, UK | publisher=Aves Press | isbn=978-0-9568611-1-5 | pages=106–107 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267763194 | ref=none }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Greenway | editor2-first=James C. Jr | year=1960 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=9 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology  | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=363 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481038 }}</ref> The genus name, ''[[Lanius]]'', is derived from the [[Latin]] word for "[[butcher]]", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The specific ''senator'' is [[Latin]] for "[[Roman Senate|senator]]", so-named because its chestnut cap recalled the colour of the stripe on the [[toga]] of a Roman senator.<ref name=job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher= Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n219/mode/1up 219], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n353/mode/1up 353]}}</ref> The common name "woodchat" is an Anglicisation of German ''waldkatze'', literally "woodcat",<ref name=OED2>{{Cite OED |Woodchat}}</ref> and  "shrike" is from [[Old English]] ''scríc'', "shriek", referring to the shrill call.<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED |Shrike}}</ref>

A [[molecular phylogenetic]] study published in 2019 found that within the genus ''Lanius'' the woodchat shrike was [[sister taxon|sister]] to the [[lesser grey shrike]] (''Lanius minor''), a migratory species which breeds in the Mediterranean and steppe regions of the southern Palearctic. The two species diverged from each other around 3.9–5.0 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Fuchs | first1=J. | last2=Alström | first2=P. | last3=Yosef | first3=R. | last4=Olsson | first4=U. | date=2019 | title=Miocene diversification of an open-habitat predatorial passerine radiation, the shrikes (Aves: Passeriformes: Laniidae) | journal=Zoologica Scripta | volume=48 | issue=5 | pages=571–588 | doi=10.1111/zsc.12363| s2cid=202027002 | url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02961301/file/Fuchs%20et%20al.%20-%202019%20-%20Miocene%20diversification%20of%20an%20open-habitat%20predato.pdf }}</ref>

Three [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2022 | title=Shrikes, vireos, shrike-babblers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/shrikes/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=3 March 2022 }}</ref>
* ''L. s. senator'' Linnaeus, 1758 – central, south Europe and north Africa
* ''L. s. badius'' [[Gustav Hartlaub|Hartlaub]], 1854 – west Mediterranean Islands
* ''L. s. niloticus'' ([[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1853) – Cyprus and south Turkey to Iran

<gallery mode = packed heights = 180px>
Woodchat Shrike juv - Castuera - Extremadura S4E5780 (14760575193).jpg|Juvenile ''L. s. senator'', Spain
Alcaudón común (Lanius senator) (8587246504) (2).jpg|''L. s. senator'', Spain
Woodchat shrike kuwait by irvin calicut DSCN2321.jpg|''L. s. niloticus'', Kuwait
</gallery>

==Description==

The woodchat shrike is {{cvt|17|-|19|cm}} in overall length which is slightly larger than a [[red-backed shrike]].<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Svensson | first1=Lars | last2=Mullarney | first2=Killian | last3=Zetterström | first3=Dan | year=2009 | title=Collins Bird Guide | edition=2nd | location=London | publisher=HarperCollins | isbn=978-0-00-726814-6 | page=356 }}</ref> 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. <!-- L.s.senator vs L.s.badius wintering in Ghana: BonnerZoolBeitr27:67 --> In the female and young birds, the upperparts are brown and white and vermiculated. Underparts are buff and also vermiculated.<ref name=Lefranc/>

==Distribution and habitat==
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 in the Arabian Peninsula including Bahrain and Kuwait, 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.<ref name=iucn/> 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.<ref name=Lefranc>{{cite book| last1=Lefranc | first1=Norbert |last2=Worfolk | first2=Tim |title= Shrikes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HclLAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 |year=2013 |publisher=A & C Black |isbn=978-1-4081-8756-2 | pages=159–165}}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology==
===Breeding===
[[File:Lanius senator MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.214. Jebsheim Haut Rhin.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Eggs]]
Eggs are laid from early May to mid-July. The nest is built by both sexes and is placed in a tree, usually a fruit or olive tree.  The nest is a strong cup of plant material which is lined with wool, hair, fine roots, cobwebs and lichen. The nest sometimes includes green plant material. The clutch is usually 5–6 eggs which are laid daily. The eggs are glossy and vary in colour: they can be pale olive-green, sandy, greyish-yellow or brown. They have brown to pale olive speckles concentrated at the broader end. For the [[nominate subspecies]] the average size is {{cvt|23|x|17|mm}} with a calculated weight of {{cvt|3.4|g}}. After the last egg is laid they are incubated by the female; only very rarely does the male participate. The eggs hatch after 14–15 days. The young are cared for by both parents and fledge after 15–20 days. The parents continue to feed the fledgelings up to 3 to 4 weeks of age.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1993|pp=538–539}}

The longest lived woodchat shrike recorded by [[Bird ringing|ring-recovery]] data is 5 years and eight months for a bird found dead in Germany.<ref name=euring>{{cite web |title=European Longevity Records | url=https://euring.org/data-and-codes/longevity-list?page=5 |publisher=Euring: European Union for Bird Ringing |access-date=6 March 2022 }}</ref>

===Food and feeding===
The woodchat shrike mainly eats insects, particularly [[beetle]]s, but its diet can include other invertebrates and very occasionally small mammals and small birds. It hunts by perching on an exposed lookout such as on a branch of a tree or on a fence, typically {{cvt|2|-|6|m|ft|sigfig=1}} above the ground, and then dropping or gliding down to its prey. It also makes sallying flights after flying insects. Small insects are crushed in its bill but large insects are dismembered. Impaling prey on a thorn has been recorded but is unusual. Indigestible material such as [[chitin]], bones and hair is regurgitated as pellets.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1993|pp=529–530}}

==Population==
Though it remains common, the woodchat shrike has been declining for a long period. In its European range, it is listed as a threatened species in many countries, such as [[France]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://inpn.mnhn.fr/docs/LR_FCE/UICN-LR-Oiseaux-diffusion.pdf | title=France}}</ref> [[Poland]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20160002183 | title=Polish}}</ref> and Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/biodiversitaet/publikationen-studien/publikationen/rote-liste-brutvoegel.html | title=BAFU}}</ref> Due to its large population, estimated to be 5.9-10 million individuals,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/woodchat-shrike-lanius-senator/text | title=Birdlife international}}</ref> it was listed as a [[least concern]] species by the IUCN since 1988. The species for a long time had battled several devastating threats, including loss of habitat due to agriculture, afforestation, excessive use of pesticides, climate change shrinking the species' range, trans-migratory hunting, declines of insect prey and droughts. 

<gallery>
File:Keulemans Onze vogels 3 11.jpg|Illustration
File:Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator).jpg|On a stamp of Macedonia (now North Macedonia)
File:Coloured figures of the birds of the British Islands - issued by Lord Lilford (8291313154).jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*{{ cite book | editor1-last=Cramp | editor1-first=Stanley | editor1-link=Stanley Cramp | editor2-last=Perrins | editor2-first=C.M. | year=1993 | chapter=''Lanius senator'' Woodchat Shrike | title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic | volume=VII: Flycatchers to Strikes | location=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=523–542 | isbn=978-0-19-857510-8 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Lanius senator}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Lanius senator}}
*{{field guide birds of the world|Lanius senator}}
*{{Avibase|name=Lanius senator}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/woodchat-shrike-lanius-senator Woodchat shrike videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/woodchat.shrike.html Oiseaux], pictures {{in lang|fr}}
*{{ cite web | last1=Blasco-Zumeta | first1=Javier | last2=Heinze | first2=Gerd-Michael  | title=Woodchat Shrike | url=http://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/passeriformes/404.woodchatshrike-lsenator.pdf | work=Identification Atlas of Aragon's Birds | ref=none}}

{{Laniidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q235052}}

[[Category:Lanius|woodchat shrike]]
[[Category:Birds of Southern Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of West Asia]]
[[Category:Wintering birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|woodchat shrike]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|woodchat shrike]]