Bull-headed Shrike

The Bull-headed Shrike is a stocky, large-headed songbird belonging to the predatory shrike family. Adults show a warm rufous-brown crown and nape, a bold black mask through the eye, a grey-brown back, and a strongly hooked bill used for subduing prey. Underparts are pale with fine barring, more pronounced in females and immatures, giving them a scaled appearance.

Like other shrikes, it hunts from an exposed perch, dropping onto prey on the ground, and is well known for its habit of impaling captured insects and small animals on thorns or barbed wire as a way of storing food or displaying territorial fitness, a behavior sometimes called a "larder."

Key field marks

• Rufous-brown crown and nape contrasting with a grey-brown back
• Broad black mask through the eye, more extensive and blacker in males
• Strongly hooked, shrike-typical bill
• Pale underparts with fine barring, especially on females and young birds
• Habit of perching prominently on wires, fences, or exposed branches

Similar species

• Brown Shrike is more uniformly rufous-brown overall without as strong a contrast between crown and back, and typically has a shorter, less hooked-looking bill impression.
• Great Grey Shrike and other larger shrikes are bigger with more grey plumage overall.

Habitat

Prefers open country with scattered trees and shrubs, including farmland, orchards, forest edges, hedgerows, and scrubby grassland.

Range

Breeds across Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and northeastern China; northern populations winter further south within the same general region.

Migration

Partially migratory; birds from colder northern areas move to milder lowland or southern areas for winter, while southern populations tend to be resident.

Behavior

Hunts from an exposed perch, watching for movement before dropping onto prey on the ground; frequently caches surplus prey by impaling it on thorns, twigs, or barbed wire.

Voice

A harsh, chattering "gee-gee-gee" or scolding rattle; males also give a more varied, mimicking song during the breeding season.

Feeding

Takes large insects such as grasshoppers and beetles, along with small lizards, frogs, and occasionally small birds or rodents, using its hooked bill to kill and dismember prey.

Nesting

Builds a bulky cup nest of twigs and grass in a dense shrub or low tree; lays 4-6 pale eggs with darker speckling.