Lanius tephronotus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The grey-backed shrike (Lanius tephronotus) is a bird in the family Laniidae inhabiting South-east Asia. The grey-backed shrike was first described in 1831 by Nicholas Aylward Vigors as L. tephronotus collected near Darjeeling, India. It is closely allied with L. schach, and formerly treated as conspecific, but differs in morphology; moreover, the two species are largely sympatric and, although race lahulensis sometimes considered to represent a hybrid population between them, there is no definite proof of interbreeding.
The species is 21–25 cm long and weighs 39-54 g. It is a shrike with long tail. The nominate race has black lowermost forehead (just over base of bill) and facial mask through lores and eye to rear ear-coverts; crown to nape and most of upperparts dark grey, small rufous rump patch; upperwing black, most wing-coverts, secondaries and tertials fringed pale rufous to whitish, sometimes tiny white patch at base of primaries (often lacking); tail chestnut-brown, tipped buffish, outermost pair of rectrices light brown; throat and undertail brownish-grey... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 5 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 6 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Cuc Phuong National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 12 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-backed Shrike sighting in Jiuzhaigou National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 131 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-backed Shrike in Jiuzhaigou National Park on a given day, against about 20% in September to December, the lowest months. That is one of Jiuzhaigou National Park's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against 15 mm in December. January to March have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey-backed Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Grey-backed Shrike sightings, Jiuzhaigou National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Kaziranga National Park (India, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Grey-backed Shrike that you can see in Jiuzhaigou National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Chestnut Thrush (about 60%), Elliot's Laughingthrush (about 60%) and Buff-barred Warbler (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey-backed Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Jiuzhaigou National Park (59 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.
