The
red-backed shrike (
Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and a member of the shrike family,
Laniidae. It breeds in a range stretching from western Europe eastwards to central Russia, and it overwinters in the eastern areas of tropical and southern Africa. About 17 centimetres (7 inches) in length, it feeds on large
insects, small
birds,
frogs,
rodents and
lizards. Like other shrikes, it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "
larder". This male red-backed shrike was photographed at
Lake Kerkini in northern Greece.
Photograph credit: Antonios Tsaknakis