Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyLaniidae (Shrikes)
- GenusLanius (Typical Shrikes)
- SpeciesLanius cristatus (Brown Shrike)
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. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, based on 394 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Square-tailed Bulbul
Hypsipetes ganeesa
Orange-billed Babbler
Turdoides rufescens
Sri Lanka Drongo
Dicrurus lophorinus
White-bellied Drongo
Dicrurus caerulescens
Orange Minivet
Pericrocotus flammeus
Black-capped Bulbul
Pycnonotus melanicterus
Ceylon Magpie
Urocissa ornata
Pale-billed Flowerpecker
Dicaeum erythrorhynchos
Ceylon Myna
Gracula ptilogenys
Purple-rumped Sunbird
Leptocoma zeylonica
Spot-winged Thrush
Geokichla spiloptera
Dark-fronted Babbler
Rhopocichla atriceps
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Brown Shrike in Sinharaja Forest Reserve?
About 27% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Shrike sighting in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, based on 394 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Brown Shrike in Sinharaja Forest Reserve?
November has the highest sighting rate for Brown Shrike in Sinharaja Forest Reserve in our monthly data.