The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae. The male is unmistakable with a bluish-grey head, black mask, bright chestnut back and thick hooked black bill. It impales captured insects on thorns and barbed wire, which acts as a larder. The voice includes a harsh 'chack chack' alarm call, and males produce a sustained warble in which the songs of other bird species are copied. The red-backed shrike breeds throughout most of Europe except for most of the northern areas, central and southern Iberia and many Mediterranean islands.