Listen to the great grey shrike
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the great grey shrike
The great grey shrike is a bird in the family Laniidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 32 cm and weigh around 63 g.
What does the great grey shrike sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with a number of large, similar-looking parapatric relatives. Males and females are similar in plumage, pearly grey above with a black eye-mask and white underparts.
Breeding takes place generally north of 50° northern latitude in northern Europe and Asia. Most populations migrate south in winter to temperate regions. The great grey shrike is carnivorous, with rodents making up over half its diet.
Related birds in the genus Lanius
More from the family Laniidae
Frequently asked questions
What does a great grey shrike sound like?
You can hear 1 recording of the great grey shrike on this page, including its call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the great grey shrike endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the great grey shrike as “least concern”.
What family does the great grey shrike belong to?
The great grey shrike (Lanius excubitor) belongs to the family Laniidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Call · Lüscherz, Erlach, Bern, Switzerland by Pascal Christe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q184508 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Great grey shrike – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Marek Szczepanek – CC BY-SA 3.0