Lanius collurio
Silhouette: Zeynel Cebeci · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of tropical Africa and southern Africa.
The red-backed shrike was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Lanius collurio. 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 collurio is from Ancient Greek kollurion, a bird mentioned by Aristotle. The common English name "shrike" is from Middle English *schrike, *schryke, from Old English sċrīc, "shriek", from the same root as shriek and screech, referring to the bird's shrill cry or call.
This 16–18 cm-long (6.3–7.1 in) migratory bird eats large insects, small birds, frogs, rodents and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder." This practice has earned it the nickname of "butcher... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-backed Shrike sighting in Akagera National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 253rd most-seen of the 320 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-backed Shrike in Akagera National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December to September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-backed Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
55th of 65
Of the 65 parks where we can rate Red-backed Shrike sightings, Akagera National Park ranks 55th at under 5%. The best odds are in Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 40%), Hortobágy National Park (Hungary, about 40%) and Kiskunság National Park (Hungary, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Lanius
The closest relatives of the Red-backed Shrike that you can see in Akagera National Park (genus Lanius, Typical Shrikes) are Grey-backed Fiscal (about 60%) and Northern Fiscal (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-backed Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Akagera National Park (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
