Lanius cristatus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike sighting in Varanasi on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 70th most-seen of the 92 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike in Varanasi on a given day, against under 5% in February to September, the lowest months. That is one of Varanasi's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 250 mm in July.
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.
61st of 80
Of the 80 cities where we can rate Brown Shrike sightings, Varanasi ranks 61st at under 5%. 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 Varanasi (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Jungle Babbler (about 70%), House Crow (about 60%) and Black Drongo (about 60%), 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 Varanasi (11 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.
