Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyLaniidae (Shrikes)
- GenusLanius (Typical Shrikes)
- SpeciesLanius cristatus (Brown Shrike)
The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the red-backed shrike (L. collurio) and isabelline shrike (L. isabellinus). 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 specific cristatus is Latin for "crested", used in a broader sense than in English. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call. Like most other shrikes, it has a distinctive black "bandit-mask" through the eye and is found mainly in open scrub habitats, where it perches on the tops of thorny bushes in search of prey. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Jiuzhaigou National Park
Grey-backed Shrike
Lanius tephronotus
Tiger Shrike
Lanius tigrinus
Bull-headed Shrike
Lanius bucephalus
Long-tailed Shrike
Lanius schach
Chestnut Thrush
Turdus rubrocanus
Elliot's Laughingthrush
Trochalopteron elliotii
Buff-barred Warbler
Phylloscopus pulcher
Chinese White-browed Rosefinch
Carpodacus dubius
White-throated Redstart
Phoenicurus schisticeps
Gray-headed Bullfinch
Pyrrhula erythaca
Rufous-vented Tit
Periparus rubidiventris
White-backed Thrush
Turdus kessleri
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Brown Shrike at Jiuzhaigou National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there