CreatureData

Brown shrike

Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) is a species in the family Laniidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 29.3 g to 33 g and live up to 5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus)
Photo: Tisha Mukherjee · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the brown shrike

Weight
29.3 g – 33 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4.95src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Migratorysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the brown shrike live?

Not recorded

What is the brown shrike?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Brown shrike” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brown_shrike&oldid=1382356793), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the brown shrike endangered?

The brown shrike is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the brown shrike classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyLaniidae
  6. genusLanius
  7. SpeciesLanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms Collurio ferrugiceps

Other names and names in other languages (53)
  • صرد بنيArabic
  • Кафява сврачкаBulgarian
  • capsigrany bruCatalan
  • Capserigany BruCatalan
  • Сибирь шапренгӹMari
  • ťuhýk hnědýCzech
  • cigydd brownWelsh
  • Brun TornskadeDanish
  • BraunwürgerGerman
  • RostschwanzwürgerGerman
  • RotschwanzwürgerGerman
  • ΚαστανοκεφαλάςGreek
  • bruna lanioEsperanto
  • Brunkrona lanioEsperanto
  • Alcaudón pardoSpanish
  • pruunõgijaEstonian
  • siperianlepinkäinenFinnish
  • Pie-grièche bruneFrench
  • Scréachán donnIrish
  • Buitchoor dhoneManx
  • חנקן חוםHebrew
  • barna gébicsHungarian
  • ԺուլանArmenian
  • MerbahIndonesian
  • Bentet coklatIndonesian
  • BrúnsvarriIcelandic
  • Averla brunaItalian
  • アカモズJapanese
  • アカモズ（広義）Japanese
  • Сібір тағанағыKazakh
  • 노랑때까치Korean
  • rudoji medšarkėLithuanian
  • Sibīrijas čaksteLatvian
  • തവിടൻ ഷ്രൈക്ക്Malayalam
  • तपकिरी खाटिकMarathi
  • Bruine KlauwierDutch
  • brunvarslarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • brunvarslerNorwegian
  • dzierzba brązowaPolish
  • picanço-castanhoPortuguese
  • Сибирский жуланRussian
  • RuškesskirriNorthern Sami
  • strakoš červenochvostýSlovak
  • sibirski srakoperSlovenian
  • Smeđi svračakSerbian
  • brun törnskataSwedish
  • பழுப்பு கீச்சான்Tamil
  • பழுப்புக் கீச்சான்Tamil
  • นกอีเสือสีน้ำตาลThai
  • Kahverengi ÖrümcekkuşuTurkish
  • сорокопуд сибірськийUkrainian
  • 紅尾伯勞Chinese
  • 红尾伯劳Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the brown shrike

Other species in the same genus Lanius.

CompareBrown shrike vs Red-backed shrikeBrown shrike vs Great grey shrikeBrown shrike vs Lesser grey shrikeBrown shrike vs Woodchat shrike

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown shrike?

An adult brown shrike weighs 29.3 g – 33 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the brown shrike endangered?

The brown shrike is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the brown shrike live?

The brown shrike has a recorded lifespan of 5 years.

What kind of animal is the brown shrike?

The brown shrike (Lanius cristatus) belongs to the family Laniidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-shrike

MLA

“Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-shrike.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_shrike_2026,
  title = {Brown shrike (Lanius cristatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-shrike},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}