The woodchat shrike (Lanius senator) common name Woodchat is an Anglicisation of German waldkatze, literally woodcat – and shrike is from Old English scríc, shriek, referring to the shrill call. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground – and the range is southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. The male is very distinctive with a red crown, red neck, and black mask. Females are duller, with a brown-grey mantle and the black eye-mask showing some buff-white colouration.
