Although it is a lot smaller than the great grey shrike, it has much in common with this species when it comes to favorite menu and feeding habits. The red-backed shrike is in fact a carnivorous bird that eats insects, rodents and other birds. It stores excess food by means of impaling it on thorns of bushes so that it can come back to it later, when hungry. It is very difficult to photograph for two reasons. The first reason is its small size (a weight of about 30 g, wingspan not exceeding 30 cm), the second reason is the fact that they won’t allow a human to approach them too close, in fact they will keep quite a distance from you. Here, without a hide, well-selected site or luck a long telephoto lens won’t help.
Last minute news – May 2013
Few pictures augmented the gallery in May 2013. Unfortunately, pictures were taken from a big distance while photographing a Barred Warbler. Red-backed Shrike, when flying by closer, would be immediately chased away and there was no way to take pictures of a similar quality to warbler’s.
Last minute news 08/2013
In July and August 2013 when I was waiting in look-outs for other birds quite unexpectedly I managed to take some photos of red-necked shrike. One day It happened that the bird was not afraid of people at all and it was so trusting that when I was walking along the side of a grassland and I was quietly coming up closer and closer I could put my tripod and take a few photos at quite a short distance of about 10 meters.
Last minute news-06/2014
After the successful photo session with the Corncrake, I spotted several Red-backed Shrikes  and took a few interesting pictures of them. Until now, the Red-backed Shrike have not been the main theme of my photo sessions. These, which were taken, bring much variety to the gallery.
Last minute news - 07/2015
A few new pictures were added to the gallery.
Last minute news - South Africa 02/2017
Seeing our red-backed shrike in South Africa is a cool experience. I encountered them several times and cannot help adding a picture of "our" bird in African scenery.
Last minute news 07/2018- Bulgaria
Not far from the place where I could watch the woodchat shrike there were red-backed shrikes as well, and they were together with their youngs. A few pictures were taken.
Last minute news-11/12-2022 – Botswana

RPA -język angielski

Republic of South Africa 02/2017 - introductory text - Livingstone's turaco
Birds-new galleries:
1.Livingstone's turaco(T,V),2.Red-billed oxpecker(T,V).3.Long-tailed widowbird (T,V),4.Cape Glossy-Starling.5.Grosbeak Weaver (T,V).6.Trumpeter Hornbill (T,V),7.Fork-tailed Drongo.8.Rufous-chested Swallow (T).9.Long-tailed Cormorant.10. Burchell's Coucal (T,V).11.Water Thick-knee (T).12.Spotted Thick-knee (T).13.African Swamphen.14. Great White Pelican.15.African Pied Wagtail (T,V).16.Crested Guineafowl (V).17.Three-banded Plover (T).18.White-fronted Plover (T).19.Pin-tailed Whydah.20.Southern Red Bishop (T,V).21.Tawny-flanked Prinia.22.Forest Weaver (T).23.Cape Weaver (T).24.Bald ibis (T). 25.African Fish Eagle,26.Dark-capped Bulbul,27.Sombre Greenbul,28.African Pied Starling,29.Black-bellied Glossy-Starling,30.Woolly-necked Stork (T).31.Blacksmith Lapwing,32.Black-headed Heron,33.Goliath Heron (T),34.Red-winged Starling,35.Yellow-billed Stork (T).36.Blue Bustard (T).37.White-faced Whistling Duck,38.Perrin's Bushshrike (V),39.Natal Francolin (T),40.Speckled Pigeon,41.Lesser Striped-Swallow, 42.Greater Striped-Swallow(V),43.Yellow-billed Duck,44.Yellow-billed Kite,45.South African Shelduck (V),46.African Stonechat,47.Cape Canary,48.Black Cuckooshrike,49.Grey Crowned-Crane (T),50.Blue Crane (T),51.Crowned Hornbill (T),52.Wahlberg's Eagle,53. Palm-nut Vulture,54.Pied Kingfisher,55.Hamerkop,56.Orange River white-eye,57.Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove,58.Southern Black-Flycatcher,59.Malachite Sunbird,60.Black-backed Puffback,61.African Golden-Weaver,62.African Jacana (V),63.African harrier-hawk.64.African Firefinch,65.Crested Barbet,66.Wailing Cisticola,67.Brown-crowned Tchagra,68.Black-winged Lapwing,69.Wattled Lapwing,70.Black Heron,71.Red-faced Mousebird,72.Speckled Mousebird,73. African Hoopoe,74.Bokmakierie Bushshrike,75.Crested Francolin (T),76.Brown Snake-Eagle,77.Spur-winged Goose,78.Gray Go-away-bird, 79.Sacred Ibis(T,V),80.Wire-tailed Swallow,81.Rufous-necked Wryneck,82.Brown-hooded Kingfisher,83.Woodland Kingfisher,84.Striped Kingfisher,85.Red-knobbed Coot,86.Blue-cheeked Bee-eater(T),87.Little Bee-eater (T),88.African Darter,89.Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (T,V),90.Kittlitz's plover (T),91.Caspian Tern,92.White-backed Vulture,93.Red-billed Teal, 94.Purple-crested Turaco (V),95.Red-billed Quelea,96.African Yellow White-eye,97.Black-collared Barbet,98.Mocking Cliff-Chat,99.Southern Anteater-Chat,100.African Paradise-Flycatcher,101.Ring-necked Dove,102.Golden-breasted Bunting,103.Yellow-crowned Bishop,104.Yellow-throated Petronia, 105.Yellow-bellied Greenbul,106.Rattling Cisticola (V).107.White-throated Swallow.108.Red-eyed Dove.109.White-eared Barbet. 110. Plain Martin,111.Banded Martin,112.Red-backed Scrub-Robin (V),113.Southern Fiscal,114.Gray-winged Francolin (T),115.Acacia Pied Barbet,116.Glossy Ibis (T),117.Buff-streaked Bushchat,118.African Openbill (T),119.Chinspot Batis,120. Bateleur (T),121.Dideric Cuckoo,122.Yellow-fronted Canary,123.Malachite Kingfisher,124.Scarlet-chested Sunbird,125.Orange-throated Longclaw,126.Yellow-throated Longclaw,127.African Green-Pigeon,128.Cape Bunting,129.Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird,130.Variable Indigobird,131.Fan-tailed Widowbird,132.Orange Weaver,133.Long-crested Eagle,134.Cape Crow (V),135.Southern Gray-headed Sparrow,136.Cape Sparrow,137. Helmed Guineafowl.138.Green-backed Camaroptera.139.Violet-backed Starling.140 Black-bellied Glossy-Starling.
MAMMALS NEW GALLERIES: 1.Southern giraffe.2Burchell's zebra.3.Nyala.4.White rhinoceros.5.Chacma baboon.6.African Buffalo.7.Wildebeests.8.Common warthog.9.Waterbuck.10. Bushbuck.11.Vervet monkey.12.Banded mongoose.13.Impala.
REPTILIES - NEV GALLERIES: 1.Nile crocodile.2.Leopard tortoise.3.Serrated Hinged Terrapin.4.Flap-necked chameleon.
INSECT : 1. Elegant Grasshopper. 2.Plum dung beetle, and changes in the gallery of butterflies, odonata and other insects.
CHANGES IN BIRDS GALLERIES : 1.European roller (T).2 Black-winged kite.3.Amur falcon (T).4.Egyptian goose(T).5.Red-backed shrike (T).6.Hadeda ibis (T).7.Llittle egret.8.Cattle egret.9.Barn swallow.10.Squacco heron.11.Zitting cisticola (T).12.Common moorhen.13. Steppe buzzard (T).14.Sanderling (T ).15.Purple heron.16.European Bee-eater.17.Common tern. 18.Laughing Dove.19.White stork.
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