Shrikes – Family Overview

Shrikes are medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the family Laniidae. They are known for their robust bills with hooked tips and their predatory behaviour.

Shrikes typically inhabit open landscapes such as grasslands, scrub, farmland, and woodland edges, where they use prominent perches to scan for prey. Despite being songbirds, they are effective hunters.

These birds feed mainly on insects, small mammals, reptiles, and other birds. A distinctive behaviour of shrikes is the impaling of prey on thorns or barbed wire, which helps them store food and tear prey into manageable pieces.

Shrikes are generally solitary and territorial, often returning to the same perches repeatedly. Many species are migratory, moving seasonally between breeding and wintering grounds.

The family is distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. In India, shrikes are represented by both resident and migratory species, commonly seen in open and semi-arid habitats.

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Licensing & Prints

Selected photographs from this bird family are available for licensing and fine-art prints. You can explore curated images in the Shrikes collection on BirdsPhotos Shop.