Lanius
Genus of birds
title: "Lanius" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lanius", "bird-genera"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/lanius" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanius" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
| image = Lanius excubitor.jpg | image_caption = Great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) impaling a yellowhammer | taxon = Lanius | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = Many, see text | type_species =Lanius excubitor | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. 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 common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
Some African species are known as fiscals. That name comes from the Afrikaans word fiskaal ("public official", especially a hangman), because they hang their prey on thorns for storage.
Most Lanius species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but the Northern shrike is found in eastern Asia and North America, while the loggerhead shrike is confined to North America. There are no members of this genus or the shrike family in South America or Australia.
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 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, 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. 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 shrikes 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 fossils found at Langy, France.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus Lanius was introduced by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. The type species was designated as the great grey shrike by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1824. The genus name is a Latin word meaning "butcher".
The genus contains the following 32 species:
::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Long-tailed fiscal, Lanius cabanisi.jpg | 120px]] | Long-tailed fiscal | Lanius cabanisi |
| [[File:Graumantelwürger Lanius excubitoroides.JPG | 120px]] | Grey-backed fiscal | Lanius excubitoroides |
| [[File:Taita Fiscal (12560159893).jpg | 120px]] | Taita fiscal | Lanius dorsalis |
| [[File:Lanius excubitor, Chilham, Kent 1.jpg | 120px]] | Great grey shrike | Lanius excubitor |
| [[File:Somali Fiscal specimen RWD.jpg | 120px]] | Somali fiscal | Lanius somalicus |
| [[File:Loggerhead Shrike florida RWD6.jpg | 120px]] | Loggerhead shrike | Lanius ludovicianus |
| Giant grey shrike | Lanius giganteus | central China | |
| [[File:Chinese Grey Shrike (15690680610).jpg | 120px]] | Chinese grey shrike | Lanius sphenocercus |
| [[File:Südlicher-Raubwürger 2018-01-07 0003.jpg | 120px]] | Iberian grey shrike | Lanius meridionalis |
| [[File:Northern Shrike (8128455040).jpg | 120px]] | Northern shrike | Lanius borealis |
| [[File:Gabelek nêr.jpg | 120px]] | Masked shrike | Lanius nubicus |
| São Tomé fiscal | Lanius newtoni | São Tomé Island, São Tomé and Príncipe | |
| [[File:Northern Fiscal RWD6.jpg | 120px]] | Northern fiscal | Lanius humeralis |
| Emin's shrike | Lanius gubernator | Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Uganda | |
| [[File:Lanius mackinnoni 03.jpg | 120px]] | Mackinnon's shrike | Lanius mackinnoni |
| [[File:Souza's Shrike (Lanius souzae) (8077352625)~crop.jpg | 120px]] | Souza's shrike | Lanius souzae |
| [[File:Common fiscal (Lanius collaris subcoronatus).jpg | 120px]] | Southern fiscal | Lanius collaris |
| [[File:Lesser Grey Shrike by Daniel Bastaja.jpg | 120px]] | Lesser grey shrike | Lanius minor |
| [[File:Lanius senator01 new.jpg | 120px]] | Woodchat shrike | Lanius senator |
| [[File:Burmese Shrike.jpg | 120px]] | Burmese shrike | Lanius collurioides |
| [[File:Tiger shrike (Lanius tigrinus), Hindhede Nature Park, Singapore - 20060921.jpg | 120px]] | Tiger shrike | Lanius tigrinus |
| [[File:Bay-backed shrike (Lanius vittatus) Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg | 120px]] | Bay-backed shrike | Lanius vittatus |
| [[File:Lanius isabellinus1.jpg | 120px]] | Isabelline shrike | Lanius isabellinus |
| winters to southern Asia and Africa | |||
| [[File:Lanius collurio 1 (Martin Mecnarowski).jpg | 120px]] | Red-backed shrike | Lanius collurio |
| [[File:0T4A6719.jpg | 120px]] | Red-tailed shrike | Lanius phoenicuroides |
| [[File:Mountain Shrike.jpg | center | 120x120px]] | Mountain shrike |
| [[File:Lanius cristatus - Surin.jpg | 120x120px]] | Brown shrike | Lanius cristatus |
| [[File:Mozu1.JPG | 120px]] | Bull-headed shrike | Lanius bucephalus |
| [[File:Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach- race tricolor) in Kolkata W IMG 3434.jpg | 120px]] | Long-tailed shrike | Lanius schach |
| [[File:Grey-backed Shrike মেটেপিঠ লাটোরা, (Lanius tephronotus).jpg | 120px]] | Grey-backed shrike | Lanius tephronotus |
| :: |
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 (as Lanius macularius)
- Northern variable pitohui (as Lanius kirhocephalus)
- Red-whiskered bulbul (as Lanius jocosus)
- Grey-cheeked bulbul (as Lanius Bres)
References
References
- {{Cite OED. Shrike
- Linnaeus, Carl. (1758). "Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis". Laurentii Salvii.
- Swainson, William. (1824–1825). "An inquiry into the natural affinities of the Laniadae, or shrikes; preceded by some observations on the present state of ornithology in this country". Zoological Journal.
- (1960). "Check-List of Birds of the World". Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
- AviList Core Team. (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025".
- "Coracornis sanghirensis - Avibase".
- Australia, Atlas of Living. "Pachycephala (Alisterornis) rufiventris rufiventris {{!}} Atlas of Living Australia".
- "Pitohui kirhocephalus - Avibase".
- "Pycnonotus jocosus - Avibase".
- "Alophoixus bres - Avibase".
- (1997). "Shrikes". Pica Press.
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