By Mariano Gómez · Updated on 7 October 2026

Birds

Woodchat Shrike, the small red-headed hunter that lives in the dehesas

Lanius senatorHear its song0:15

Photo gallery of the Woodchat Shrike

Identification of the Woodchat Shrike

It is characterised by its bulky head tinged with red and by the black mantle with large white patches on the wings. The tail is also black, except at the edges and base. From a long distance and perched it is very recognisable by the contrast between the dark upperparts and the ivory white of the throat, breast and belly. Close up you can see the long tail and the black, broad, short, hooked bill.

Adult

• Reddish-chestnut head, with black eye-mask.
• Black mantle and tail, with white patches on the wings.
• Ivory-white throat, breast and belly.

Young bird

• Very similar to that of the Red-backed Shrike, but with a pale patch at the base of the primary feathers.
• It does not have the reddish-chestnut rump.

Habitat and distribution of the Woodchat Shrike

It is distributed across most of the European and African countries around the Mediterranean basin and across the Asian territories between Turkey and the Caspian Sea. All European and North African populations migrate and cross the Sahara after breeding, and spend the winter in the African savannas and in Saudi Arabia.

In Spain it appears in spring over almost the whole territory, except the Canaries, and is rare in the damp regions of the north. It reaches the Peninsula between March and May and leaves during summer and early autumn. It is a typical bird of open Mediterranean landscapes with scattered trees and scrub, and reaches its highest densities in holm oak and cork oak dehesas with plenty of grass and, therefore, without excessive grazing pressure. It also lives in scrub with abundant cover, river groves, olive groves, almond groves, pastures and cereal plains with trees and bushes.

Etymology of the Woodchat Shrike

«Lanius» is «butcher» in Latin, from its habit of impaling prey, and «senator» is «senator». «Common» (the Spanish «común») sets it apart from the other shrikes, the Iberian Grey and the Red-backed, which also live in our fields.

Population of the Woodchat Shrike

In Spain there are somewhat under 3 million birds, but it is estimated to have lost 50 % of its population since 1998. In Europe between 3.8 and 6.2 million individuals are estimated, with a decreasing trend, and it has died out in some countries of central Europe. It is classed as Endangered in the Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021. The abandonment of extensive livestock farming, which lets scrub cover the grasslands, the indiscriminate use of pesticides, both here and in Africa, hunting pressure and droughts caused by climate change are its main problems.

Nest of the Woodchat Shrike

The female, with the male’s help, builds a broad cup from very fine, flexible twigs, herbaceous stems, moss and even spiders’ webs, and lines it with hair, wool and feathers. It likes to place it in thorny bushes, such as wild roses, or in dense shrubs and small trees, such as junipers and kermes oaks, and more rarely on the horizontal branches of a tree.

Courtship and breeding of the Woodchat Shrike

It begins between April and May, soon after arriving at the breeding territory; the birds are thought to arrive already paired from Africa. It raises one or two broods. The clutch consists of five or six eggs of very varied colours, greenish, whitish, buff or pinkish, always with dark spots that often form a ring at the broad end. Incubation lasts a little over two weeks, and the female is fed by the male. Afterwards, both parents feed the chicks for three weeks.

Diet of the Woodchat Shrike

It eats mainly insects, especially beetles, and completes its diet with other arthropods, small mammals and reptiles. It impales some prey on thorny bushes, though less than the Iberian Grey and Red-backed Shrikes.

Curious facts about the Woodchat Shrike

Shrikes have a reputation as «butchers» because they impale prey on thorns, hence their Latin name, «Lanius». And Woodchat Shrikes are thought to arrive from Africa already paired.

The Woodchat Shrike in Cabañeros

The habitat pages of this website list it among the breeding birds of the dehesas, where it is an abundant species, together with the Iberian Grey Shrike.

Where to see the Woodchat Shrike in Cabañeros

In the park’s dehesas, on the bushes and high branches from which it scans.

When

From March or April to September. In summer, with the young, they are easier to see.

What time

First thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon, when it hunts most.

Where

Perched at the top of a bush, fence, wire or wall, in dehesas with plenty of grass.

What to look for

A bird with a chestnut head, black eye-mask and white breast, which scans from a perch and drops to the ground.

Videos of the Woodchat Shrike

Similar species

Red-backed Shrike

Lanius collurio

How to tell them apart

The male has a grey head, not chestnut, a black eye-mask and a reddish-chestnut back. Young birds look very similar, but have the reddish-chestnut rump.

Photo: Martin Mecnarowski, CC BY-SA 3.0

Iberian Grey Shrike

Lanius meridionalis

How to tell them apart

Larger and grey above, with a black eye-mask and a pinkish-white breast. It is resident and abundant in the dehesas.

Photo: yves hoebeke, CC BY-SA 2.0

Other birds

Bibliography

• Jiménez García-Herrera, José. (2017). Aves de Cabañeros y su entorno. Madrid, Spain: Ecohábitat.
• SEO Birdlife - Sociedad Española de Ornitología
• https://es.wikipedia.org/
• Hume, Rob. (2016). Guía de campo de las Aves de España y Europa. Barcelona, Spain: Ediciones Omega