Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) (Linnaeus,1758) Κοκκινοκεφαλάς - Cyprus

See also

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

List of Birds of Cyprus - Κατάλογος πουλιών της Κύπρου

The woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) is a member of the shrike family Laniidae.

The woodchat breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground.

The male is a striking bird with black and white plumage and a chestnut crown. The race L. s. badius of the western Mediterranean lacks the large white wing patches.

In the female and young birds the upperparts are brown and vermiculated. Underparts are buff and also vermiculated.

This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds and amphibians. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".

This species often overshoots its breeding range on spring migration, and is a rare, but annual, visitor to Great Britain. The Balearic racebadius has occurred in Britain around four times as a vagrant, and has also been recorded once in Ireland.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Photos Akrotiri by George Konstantinou

Nest of Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator)  with 6 chicks at Paralimni 6/6/2023.  Photo  by George Konstantinou.

A big thanks to Andy Rollie for giving me the information and we found the nest together

Nest of Woodchat shrike (Lanius senator)  with 6 chicks at Paralimni 9/6/2023.