What does the Red-backed Shrike eat?

The Red-backed Shrike's diet shapes where and when you'll find it. Understanding what it eats helps you predict where to look.

Diet overview

Primarily large insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and bumblebees. Also consumes small mammals (voles, shrews), small birds, lizards, and frogs, especially when feeding young.

How it forages

Perch-and-pounce predator. Actively hunts from an exposed perch, swooping down to catch prey on the ground or in low vegetation. Known for its unique habit of impaling larger prey items on thorns, barbed wire, or wedging them into tight crevices for later consumption or to assist in tearing them apart. This habit is particularly prevalent during the breeding season when provisioning young with larger prey.

When it feeds

Diurnal. Most active during daylight hours, particularly in the morning and late afternoon for hunting.

Explore the Red-backed Shrike