Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio) [XC822402]
by Romuald Mikusek from Chassey, C\u00f4te-d'Or, Bourgogne-Franche-Comt\u00e9, France (alarm call, begging call)
Red-backed Shrike (Lanius) [XC734175]
by Jacobo Ramil Millarengo from Xinzo, Bri\u00f3n, A Coru\u00f1a, Galicia, Spain (alarm call, call)
Nest
A loose cup of plant materials, in a bush about 1 meter above the ground, with a compact lining.
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 7; very variable ground color with multicolored spots at the larger end.
Subspecies
Thought to form a superspecies with Brown Shrike (Lanius cristatus) and Rufous-tailed Shrike (Lanius isabellinus). Has been considered conspecific with one or both.
Subspecies intergrade. Proposed subspecies, juxtus (described from east Suffolk, in eastern England), is indistinguishable from nominate.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
collurio Linnaeus, 1758 - Breeds Europe (except north, north-western and south-west) east to western Siberia, south to northern Iberia, Sardinia, southern Italy, Sicily, Balkans (south to Croatia), central Romania, Ukraine, and plains north of Caucasus. Non-breeding southern and eastern Africa.
kobylini Buturlin, 1906 - Breeds Balkans (southern from Bosnia) east to Crimea and Caucasus, south to Asia Minor, Cyprus and north-western Iran. Non-breeding southern and eastern Africa.
pallidifrons H. C. Johansen, 1952 - Breeds western and west-central Siberia (east to north-western Altai). Non-breeding southern and eastern Africa.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet