Lanius isabellinus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The isabelline shrike or Daurian shrike (Lanius isabellinus) is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was previously considered conspecific with the red-backed shrike and red-tailed shrike. It is found in an extensive area between the Caspian Sea and north and central China southeast to the Qaidam Basin. Overwinters in Africa and Arabia.
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 common name is from the specific isabellinus, Neo-Latin for "greyish-yellow" probably named for Isabella I of Castile, said to have promised not to change her undergarments until Spain was freed from the Moors. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
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.
The plumage is isabelline, the sandy colour which gives rise to its... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 2 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 8 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 20 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 21 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 2 | Manama | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | |
| 3 | Abu Dhabi | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 4 | Doha | 🇶🇦 Qatar | |
| 5 | Dubai | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | |
| 6 | Riyadh | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | |
| 7 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 8 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Jodhpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Dushanbe | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Isabelline Shrike sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 92 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 127th most-seen of the 345 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.
March and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Isabelline Shrike in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and July–October, the lowest months. Those are among Tsavo East National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Isabelline 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.
3rd of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Isabelline Shrike sightings, Tsavo East National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Mongolia, about 50%) and Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
Same genus: Lanius
The closest relatives of the Isabelline Shrike that you can see in Tsavo East National Park (genus Lanius, Typical Shrikes) are Teita Fiscal (about 50%), Long-tailed Fiscal (about 30%) 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 Isabelline Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo East National Park (92 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.
