Lanius phoenicuroides
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In 3 days <5%
The red-tailed shrike or Turkestan shrike (Lanius phoenicuroides) is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was formerly considered conspecific with the isabelline shrike and the red-backed shrike. The plumage is a sandy colour. It has a red tail.
The red-tailed shrike breeds in south Siberia and Central Asia. This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes.
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 11 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Shrike sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 345th most-seen of the 398 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-tailed Shrike in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-tailed Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Red-tailed Shrike sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 10%), Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 10%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
Same genus: Lanius
The closest relatives of the Red-tailed Shrike that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (genus Lanius, Typical Shrikes) are Grey-backed Fiscal (about 40%) and Northern Fiscal (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-tailed Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (16 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.
