Lanius cristatus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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. Several populations of this widespread species form distinctive subspecies which breed in temperate Asia and migrate to their winter quarters in tropical Asia. They are sometimes found as vagrants in Europe and North America.
In 1747 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the brown shrike in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "The Crested Red, or Russit Butcher... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 2 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 4 | Cebu City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 5 | Taichung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 6 | Tainan | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 7 | Asansol | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Angeles | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 9 | Tamluk | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 642 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 65th most-seen of the 204 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown 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.
41st of 80
Of the 80 cities where we can rate Brown Shrike sightings, Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] ranks 41st at about 10%. The best odds are in Manila (Philippines, about 60%), Kaohsiung (Taiwan, about 50%) and Davao City (Philippines, about 50%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Brown Shrike that you can see in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (about 80%), Yellow-billed Babbler (about 70%) and Common Tailorbird (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (642 verified sightings), 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.
