Great Grey Shrike

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Great Grey Shrike in the UK

A scarce autumn migrant and rare winter visitor that does not breed here. Birds from Scandinavia arrive from late September, peak in October and set up winter territories by late November. They leave in March and April. Numbers swing from year to year and have dropped sharply since about 2017. In midwinter 2021 to 2022 only 12 were reported across ten counties, and 2021 was the poorest year on record. Some winters now produce fewer than ten. The British wintering population is best thought of as a few dozen birds in a good year.

Where and when to see a Great Grey Shrike

October brings migrants to the east coast and Northern Isles, where they may stay only a day. Wintering birds use heathland, young conifer plantations and clearfell with scattered trees. Traditional areas include the New Forest, Thursley Common in Surrey, Ashdown Forest in Sussex, the Brecks and Clocaenog Forest in north Wales, though none is guaranteed now. Territories are large and a bird can go missing for hours. Scan the tops of isolated trees and bushes from a high point. Still, bright mornings are best.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Open heath, clearfell (winter).
Diet: Voles, small birds, lizards.
Field note: Hangs prey on thorns; "butcher bird".

How to identify a Great Grey Shrike

About the size of a Blackbird with a long tail. Pale grey above and white below, with a black mask through the eye, black wings with a white patch and a black tail edged white. At long range it shows as a white dot on top of a bush or dead tree. Flight is low and dipping, ending in an upward swoop to the next perch. It often hovers like a Kestrel. First-winter birds have faint grey barring on the breast and a paler base to the bill.

Call and song

Usually silent in winter. When it does call it gives a harsh, drawn-out 'shreee' or a rattling 'shek-shek'. On warm late-winter days some birds give a quiet warbling subsong with mimicry. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Lesser Grey Shrike: Lesser Grey is a rare summer and autumn vagrant, smaller and shorter-tailed with long wingtips, and adults have a black forehead and pink-washed breast.
• Red-backed Shrike: Red-backed is sparrow-sized and brown or chestnut above, and is gone from Britain by the time most Great Greys arrive.
• Northern Wheatear: A male Wheatear is also grey with a black mask but is small, stands on the ground and shows a white rump with a black T on the tail.

Month by month

A winter visitor, typically in the UK from October through to April. Numbers peak in January. See the January birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great Grey Shrike is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Woodchat ShrikeRare · Open scrub (vagrant)
• Lesser Grey ShrikeEpic · Open country (very rare)
• Long-tailed ShrikeLegendary · Open ground (extreme vagrant)
• Red-backed ShrikeRare · Scrubby heathland (ex-breeder)
• Brown ShrikeEpic · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Daurian ShrikeEpic · Coastal scrub (rare vagrant)

Great Grey Shrike: quick answers

Where can I see a Great Grey Shrike in the UK?

Check bird news services from October onwards, because sites change each winter. Heaths in Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex, the Brecks and upland forestry in Wales and northern England have the best track record. Once a bird settles it often stays until March.

What does a Great Grey Shrike eat?

Voles, mice, small birds, lizards and large beetles. It watches from a high perch, drops on prey and kills with a bite to the neck from its hooked, notched bill. Spare prey is wedged in a fork or stuck on a thorn.

Is the Great Grey Shrike rare in the UK?

Yes, and getting rarer. It used to winter in most counties with suitable heath. Recent winters have produced a fraction of the old totals, so any wintering bird now draws visitors.

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