Lanius senator - Woodchat Shrike
Feather characters. Barbules are of medium length (1.20-1.55 mm) and divided into pigmented nodes and unpigmented or partly pigmented (less than 50%) internodes. Bell-shaped and diamond-shaped nodes are equally distributed along the entire length of barbules (25-31 per mm). They all have about the same size, slightly decreasing towards distal part. Villi are rounded and internodes are occasionally kinked. Prongs are absent. Barbules have this typical structure for Passeriformes; pigmented nodes combined with rounded villi. Only the shape of nodes and internodes is different: nodes are diamond-shaped as well as bell-shaped with kinked internodes.
Field characters. Size 17 cm. Weight 29.1 g (21.0-41.0) (Dunning, 1993). Black and white shrike, resembling Masked Shrike (Lanius nubicus, not included in BRIS). Adult has rufous-red crown and neck, extensive black mask, black upperparts and wings and white shoulders, wing patches, sides of tail, rump and underparts. Female resembles male, but is duller. Juvenile brown and strongly barred, difficult to distinguish from juvenile Masked and Red-backed Shrikes (Lanius collurio, not included in BRIS). Bill stronger than in Masked Shrike, body shorter and thicker, and tail relatively shorter. Perches on fences, poles, and trees, like other shrikes, but more often sits in foliage.
Voice. Call 'check' or 'kwik'. Song variable, with soft whistling notes, alarm calls and warbles.
Distribution. Rather common summer visitor. Map: see MapIt.
Habitat. Open woodland, orchards, fields with scattered trees, etc.
Food. Mainly large insects. More insectivorous than Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor, not included in BRIS), Great Grey Shrike, and Red-backed Shrikes, but occasionally takes vertebrates. Hunts from perch, like other shrikes.