Northern shrike
Lanius borealis Vieillot, 1808
The northern shrike (Lanius borealis) is a species in the family Laniidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 63.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the northern shrike
- Weight
- 63.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- 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 northern shrike live?
Not recorded
What is the northern shrike?
The northern shrike (Lanius borealis) is a large songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae) native to North America and Siberia. Long considered a subspecies of the great grey shrike, it was classified as a distinct species in 2017. Six subspecies are recognised.
From the Wikipedia article “Northern shrike” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_shrike&oldid=1322344985), 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 northern shrike endangered?
The northern shrike is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the northern shrike classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyLaniidae
- genusLanius
- SpeciesLanius borealis Vieillot, 1808
Synonyms Lanius septentrionalis
Other names and names in other languages (42)
- Butcher birdEnglish
- Great American shrikeEnglish
- NinekillerEnglish
- Northern gray shrikeEnglish
- Northern grey shrikeEnglish
- NSHREnglish
- Американска сива сврачкаBulgarian
- botxí borealCatalan
- ťuhýk severníCzech
- Boreal TornskadeDanish
- Nordlig TornskadeDanish
- NordraubwürgerGerman
- TaigaraubwürgerGerman
- norda lanioEsperanto
- Alcaudón borealSpanish
- viir-hallõgijaEstonian
- taigaisolepinkäinenFinnish
- Pie-grièche boréaleFrench
- Scréachán tuaisceartachIrish
- Buidseir tuathScottish Gaelic
- Pieannad ghlass hwoaieManx
- חנקן צפוניHebrew
- ljuskastotrbi svračakCroatian
- Averla borealeItalian
- averla settentrionaleItalian
- オオモズJapanese
- Солтүстік тағанағыKazakh
- 재때까치Korean
- Noordelijke KlapeksterDutch
- borealvarslerNorwegian
- srokosz północnyPolish
- picanço-borealPortuguese
- Picanço-real-americanoPortuguese
- Северный сорокопутRussian
- strakoš severskýSlovak
- Severni veliki svračakSerbian
- beringvarfågelSwedish
- Kuzey ÖrümcekkuşuTurkish
- Boreal ÖrümcekkuşuTurkish
- сорокопуд північнийUkrainian
- 灰伯劳Chinese
- 灰伯勞Chinese
Relatives of the northern shrike
Other species in the same genus Lanius.
Red-backed shrike
Lanius collurio
Great grey shrike
Lanius excubitor
Lesser grey shrike
Lanius minor
Woodchat shrike
Lanius senator
Brown shrike
Lanius cristatus
Isabelline shrike
Lanius isabellinus
CompareNorthern shrike vs Red-backed shrikeNorthern shrike vs Great grey shrikeNorthern shrike vs Lesser grey shrikeNorthern shrike vs Woodchat shrike
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the northern shrike?
An adult northern shrike weighs 63.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the northern shrike endangered?
The northern shrike is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the northern shrike?
The northern shrike (Lanius borealis) 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.
- AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Northern shrike (Lanius borealis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-shrike
“Northern shrike (Lanius borealis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-shrike.
@misc{northern_shrike_2026,
title = {Northern shrike (Lanius borealis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-shrike},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}