Lanius meridionalis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Iberian grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis) is a species of shrike endemic to southwestern Europe. It is closely related to the great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor, and its plumage is generally similar to it apart from the differences noted below. The Iberian was previously considered conspecific with the great grey; where they co-occur, they do not interbreed and are separated by choice of habitat.
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 meridionalis is Latin for "southern". The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call. This taxon was included in the great grey shrike (L. excubitor) sensu lato, then it was placed in a taxon called Southern grey shrike with the North African and Western Asian subspecies of L. excubitor. However, phylogenetic studies have shown that the Iberian grey shrike is more closely related to the northern shrike (L. borealis) of North America and Eastern Siberia and was classified as a separate species while the systematics of the remaining great grey... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian Grey Shrike sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 1,015 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 202 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Iberian Grey Shrike in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Iberian Grey Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Iberian Grey Shrike sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same genus: Lanius
The closest relatives of the Iberian Grey Shrike that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (genus Lanius, Typical Shrikes) are Woodchat Shrike (about 10%) and Red-backed Shrike (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Iberian Grey Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (1,015 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.
