A Masked Killer That Needs Our Help

Well-known for its seemingly brutal predatory and feeding habits, the red-backed shrike has become virtually extinct in the UK as a breeding bird – and is rarely seen in private collections either, says BILL NAYLOR. However, we shouldn’t overlook the attractions of this small but formidable passerine.

- Bill Naylor

WITH its grey head, pink chest and black highwayman’s mask, the male red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is handsome bird. But like all of the 30 or so species of true shrikes (which get their name from their “shrieking call”) it’s a natural born killer.

Although shrikes are passerines, they are just as much a bird of prey as any raptor species. Insects, lizards, mice, young birds and small adult birds are all on the menu. Bird ringers have found them attacking birds caught in mist nets. Gamekeepers used to shoot them on sight; aware they wouldn’t hesitate to kill pheasant or partridge chicks.

Shrikes prefer open dry country, where in extended hot weather, insects thrive. They are fond of lizards and these are a favourite food on heaths and moorland. These birds also frequent overgrown derelict sites with lots of brambles.

Like all shrikes, the red-back prefers a vantage point, such as telegraph wires or the top of bushes. Here they will wait impatiently, occasionally flicking their tail until a victim comes into view. Then they hover or pounce, striking first with their feet and gripping prey tightly. Their feet lack the power of a raptor’s talons and the hooked beak does the killing.

Most shrikes’ beaks, like those of some raptors, are equipped with a secateurs-type notch for breaking a bird or mammal’s neck – a feature handlers of this species have sometimes discovered to their cost. Carrying prey in its beak, the shrike seeks a thorn bush, such as blackthorn or gorse, and impales it. Barbed wire and even the upturned tines of a discarded garden fork have been utilised to secure dead prey, which can be dissected at leisure. Bees and beetles, its favourite insect, are often impaled on teasel and other plant stalks.

A common ritual