Chinese Grey Shrike (Lanius sphenocercus) | Details

Chinese Grey Shrike Lanius sphenocercus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note

Lanius sphenocercus and L. giganteus (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) were previously lumped as L. sphenocercus following Sibley & Monroe (1990, 1993).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Species attributes

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	92 g

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	3,460,000 km²
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	3,900,000 km²
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.37 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as uncommon (Harris and Franklin 2,000), while national population estimates include: c.100-10,000 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 individuals on migration in China; < c.100 breeding pairs and < c.50 wintering individuals in Korea and c.100-10,000 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009). The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Trend justification: The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Breeding visitor
China (mainland)	extant	native	yes
Japan	extant	vagrant
Mongolia	extant	native	yes
North Korea	extant	native
Russia	extant	native	yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native	yes
South Korea	extant	native

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Desert	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Desert	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	major	non-breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Altitude	0 - 5200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Chinese Grey Shrike Lanius sphenocercus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/chinese-grey-shrike-lanius-sphenocercus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.