Great grey shrike
Animals

Facts about great grey shrike

We found 14 facts about great grey shrike

Lanius excubitor

These small birds, compared in size to a sparrow or a blackbird, enjoy the infamous reputation of being the most brutal birds in the world. They are nicknamed Hannibal Lecter thanks to their eating habits. Their menu includes insects, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles, sometimes birds, all of which are often impaled on various spiky objects to be consumed at a preferred time. Their feeding grounds may look gruesome.

Great grey shrike
1
It is a predatory songbird from the family Laniidae.
2
It can be sighted in most European countries, northwestern and northeastern parts of Africa, and eastern Asia.
3
It is the largest of shrikes encountered in Europe.
4
On average, the great grey shrike measures up to 26 centimeters with an 11-centimeter long tail, and weighs approximately 70 grams.
5
Great grey shrikes are light-gray, with black stripes under the eye, on the wings and the tail, and a white underbelly.
6
Their beaks are short, black, and hooked like a bird of prey.
7
Their sexual dimorphism is not visible through coloration.
Both males and females look the same.
8
Great grey shrikes are carnivores.
They primarily feed on rodents, like lemmings, but also hunt for newts, salamanders, bats, fish, frogs, and toads. They also prey on insects, such as grasshoppers, beetles, bumblebees or crickets.

They are also known for eating other birds.
9
Great grey shrikes are known for impaling their prey.
Often the prey is still alive while being impaled on wires, spikes, or thorns. Shrikes do it both to keep their meal still for consumption or leave it to consume later. Sometimes, when their prey contains toxins, like certain species of grasshoppers, shrikes come back to their impaled prey after several days once the toxin degrades, so it can be safely consumed.
10
It awaits its prey on the tree top but is also known for hovering.
11
It expresses serial monogamy.
Pairs bond for a specific mating season. Typically, the next-year mate is different from the one from a year before.
12
Great grey shrike female lays up to nine eggs per clutch, an average of seven.
The young hatch after 16 to 21 days of incubation.
13
Offspring are cared for by parents and other group members called helpers.
14
It has been listed under the least concerned by the UICN Red List.
Hungry for more facts?
Subscribe to Google News Random topic
26 facts about Northern pike
26 facts about Northern pike
Esox lucius
It is one of the best-known freshwater fishes. The predatory northern pike is equipped with sharp and long teeth, perfect for holding prey. Inattentiv ...
18 facts about tiger sharks
18 facts about tiger sharks
Galeocerdo cuvier
Tiger sharks are one of the deadliest of all known shark species. Although they do not normally prey on humans, they will not hesitate to attack. They ...
32 facts about tigers
32 facts about tigers
The largest of wild cats
This one of the largest terrestrial predators is a cunning, lone hunter, with perfect climbing and swimming skills. Equally fascinating and horrifying ...
20 facts about Common cuckoo
20 facts about Common cuckoo
Cuculus canorus
They are known for their distinctive mating song, which resounds with the familiar "cuckoo" repeated in two or three syllables. Another interesting fe ...
19 facts about Great spotted woodpecker
19 facts about Great spotted woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
It rarely migrates; rather, it is a bird bound to its roost. It is not a songbird; instead, it makes its presence known by rumbling against the trunk ...

Latest topics

42 facts about Kyshtym disaster
42 facts about Kyshtym disaster
The first nuclear accident in Earth's history
Before information about it saw the light of day, the Soviets hid it for over 30 years. The explosion at the Mayak combine was the first nuclear accid ...
37 facts about Saint Petersburg
37 facts about Saint Petersburg
A city of many names
It was a dream and a matter of prestige for the Romanov dynasty to gain access to the Baltic Sea and build a metropolis to testify to Russia's emergin ...
32 facts about Peter the Great
32 facts about Peter the Great
The first Emperor of all Russia
Peter the Great is considered one of Russia's greatest rulers. He was a great reformer, strategist, and builder who was the first of the tsars to trav ...
39 facts about Dyatlov Pass incident
39 facts about Dyatlov Pass incident
Mysterious tragedy in the Ural mountains
The case of a group of students at the Ural Polytechnical Institute in Sverdlovsk continues to arouse great interest and raise many questions. A group ...
11 facts about Brooklyn Bridge
11 facts about Brooklyn Bridge
The first steel suspension bridge in the world
It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world. It connects Brooklyn with Manhattan, runs over the East River, and was completed in 1883. ...
31 facts about Brazil
31 facts about Brazil
South America's largest country
Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America and one of the largest and most populous countries in the world. A former Portuguese ...
44 facts about Ghent
44 facts about Ghent
City of three towers
Ghent is one of Belgium's most visited cities by tourists. This beautiful old Flanders city combines dignity, beauty, culture, and creativity. It is a ...
31 facts about Thailand
31 facts about Thailand
A country on the Indochinese Peninsula
Thailand is an Asian country located in its south-eastern part, famous for its interesting culture and religious architecture. This exotic country, wh ...

Similar topics

Northern pike
26 facts about Northern pike
It is one of the best-known freshwater fishes. The predatory northern pike is equipped with sharp and long teeth, perfect for holding prey. Inattentiv ...
Tiger sharks
18 facts about tiger sharks
Tiger sharks are one of the deadliest of all known shark species. Although they do not normally prey on humans, they will not hesitate to attack. They ...
Tigers
32 facts about tigers
This one of the largest terrestrial predators is a cunning, lone hunter, with perfect climbing and swimming skills. Equally fascinating and horrifying ...
Common cuckoo
20 facts about Common cuckoo
They are known for their distinctive mating song, which resounds with the familiar "cuckoo" repeated in two or three syllables. Another interesting fe ...
Great spotted woodpecker
19 facts about Great spotted woodpecker
It rarely migrates; rather, it is a bird bound to its roost. It is not a songbird; instead, it makes its presence known by rumbling against the trunk ...
Toco toucan
16 facts about toco toucan
The Toco Toucan is the largest and best-known species of toucan found in the tropical forests of South America. It is one of the most popular birds in ...
Javan hawk-eagle
13 facts about Javan hawk-eagle
The Javan hawk-eagle is one of the most endangered raptors in the world. It is a symbol of the endemic fauna of Java island in Indonesia and an Indone ...
White-browed tit-warbler
16 facts about White-browed tit-warbler
The white-browed tit-warbler is one of the most beautiful birds. Its amazing coloration causes admiration for nature and its possibilities. It inhabit ...
Tawny frogmouth
17 facts about Tawny frogmouth
There are 16 species of frogmouth divided into 3 genera. They inhabit forests across Australia and southern Asia. Most popular species of this bird is ...
Mallard
20 facts about mallard
The common mallard is the most popular game bird in Central Europe, i.e. Poland. It is very numerous and easily inhabits various environments to which ...
Dodo bird
14 facts about dodo bird
The dodo bird (Raphus cucullatus) has gained notoriety as a symbol of extinction and extermination. It inhabited the remote island of Mauritius in the ...
Bird of Paradise
23 facts about Bird of Paradise
These unusual birds were spoken of as early as the 16th century. They were admired by European sailors and merchants, to whom the natives were the fir ...