''Lanius'', the typical shrikes, are a genus of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s in the

shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera. The family name, and that of the larger genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known ...

family

Laniidae Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera. The family name, and that of the larger genus, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known ...

. The majority of the family's

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

are placed in this genus. The genus name, ''Lanius'', is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word for "

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common English name "shrike" is from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''scríc'', "shriek", referring to the shrill call. Some African species are known as fiscals. That name comes from the

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

word ''fiskaal'' ("public official", especially a hangman), because they hang their prey on thorns for storage. Most ''Lanius'' species occur in

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, but the

Northern shrike The northern shrike (''Lanius borealis'') is a large songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to North America and Siberia. Long considered a subspecies of the great grey shrike, it was classified as a distinct species in 2017. Six ...

is found in eastern Asia and North America, while the

loggerhead shrike The loggerhead shrike (''Lanius ludovicianus'') is a passerine bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (''L. borealis'') occurs north of its range, however it ...

is confined to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. There are no members of this genus or the shrike family in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. ''Lanius'' shrikes are birds of open habitats typically seen perched upright on a prominent perch like a treetop or a telephone pole. They

sally out Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch, though it also app ...

for prey, taken in flight or the ground. These species primarily take large insects, but will also take small birds, reptiles and mammals. For large northern species such as the great grey, the majority of the prey will be vertebrates, especially in winter. Despite their diet, these are not true

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

, and lack the strong talons of the raptors. Though they use their feet to hold smaller insects, larger prey items are impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn or the barbs of

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

. Thus secured they can be ripped open with the hooked bill. Most ''Lanius'' shrikes are solitary, except when breeding and are highly territorial. Northern or temperate species such as the great grey and

red-backed shrike The red-backed shrike (''Lanius collurio'') is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of ...

s are migratory and winter well south of the breeding range. The sexes of most species are distinguishable, the male invariably being the brighter bird where there is a difference. There are some natural groupings within the genus, such as the seven African fiscals, the large grey species (''ludovicianus'', ''excubitor'', ''meridionalis'' and ''sphenocercus'') and the Eurasian brown-backed species (''tigrinus'', ''bucephalus'', ''collurio'', ''isabellinus'', ''cristatus'' and ''gubernator''). In the last group in particular, it has been difficult to define species’ boundaries, and in the past several of these shrikes have been lumped as conspecific. The prehistoric shrike ''Lanius miocaenus'' has been described from

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

fossils found at

Langy Langy () is a commune in the Allier department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Allier department The following is a list of the 317 Communes of France, communes of the Allier Departments of France, department o ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Taxonomy and species list

The genus ''Lanius'' was introduced by the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

''. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

was designated as the

great grey shrike The great grey shrike (''Lanius excubitor'') is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (biology), family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike (''L. meridionalis' ...

by the English naturalist

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...

in 1824. The genus name is a

word meaning "butcher". The genus contains the following 32 species:

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Lanius'': * Crested shriketit (as ''Lanius frontatus'') *

Rufous whistler The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...

(as ''Lanius macularius'') *

Northern variable pitohui The northern variable pitohui (''Pitohui kirhocephalus'') is a species of pitohui in the family Oriolidae. It is found on New Guinea and a number of neighbouring islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It i ...

(as ''Lanius kirhocephalus'') *

Red-whiskered bulbul The red-whiskered bulbul (''Pycnonotus jocosus''), or crested bulbul, is a passerine bird native to Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical are ...

(as ''Lanius jocosus'') *

Grey-cheeked bulbul The grey-cheeked bulbul (''Alophoixus tephrogenys'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found from the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sunda Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland f ...

(as ''Lanius Bres'')

References

{{Authority control Bird genera