The Chinese Grey Shrike is a large, long-tailed gray shrike of northeastern Asia, about 12 in (30 cm) long. It is not found in the United States; it breeds around Mongolia and northeastern China and winters farther south, including Korea and Japan. Hunting from wires and posts over open farmland, it takes mice, insects, and even small birds.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Gray from crown to rump, with a black mask running from the bill through the eye to the ear, and a white forehead and eyebrow. The wings are black with broad white bases to the flight feathers, which flash in flight, and the long black tail has white edges.
Look-alikes
The Northern Shrike, the gray shrike that visits the northern U.S. in winter, is smaller at about 9–9½ in (23–24 cm) and often shows fine barring on the belly. The Chinese Grey Shrike is bigger, has a clean belly, and shows a much larger white wing patch.
Why they get mixed upBoth are big gray shrikes with a black mask and black-and-white wings and tail, and both winter in northeastern Asia.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Farmland
- Open grassland
- Range
- Breeds in eastern Mongolia and northeastern China into the Russian Far East; winters south of that range, generally not reaching the coast of southern China.
- Seasonal presence
- A migrant that breeds in northeastern Asia and moves south for the winter. It does not occur in North America.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mainly mice and other small mammals, plus frogs, grasshoppers and other insects, and small birds.
- Activity
- Watches from wires, dead branches, or fence posts, then flies low to catch prey. Like other shrikes, it may impale prey on branches.
Name and classification
- About the name
- The Giant Gray Shrike (Lanius giganteus) of central China was once treated as a subspecies of this bird; it is now usually split off, leaving the Chinese Grey Shrike with no subspecies.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
More species to explore
Record what you meet and build your own collection
Your photos are kept with their date and place, and you can fill regional albums one species at a time.