• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Climate Change maps
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Previously placed in monotypic genus Corvinella as C. corvina (del Hoyo & Collar 2016) but Fuchs et al. (2019) found that the sister genera Corvinella and Urolestes are nested within Lanius and recommended their synonymisation with the latter. Races intergrade, and intermediate individuals exist. Subspecies caliginosa sometimes merged with affinis (Dickinson & Christidis 2014). Proposed subspecies chapini (Kavirondo, in Kenya) included in affinis. Four subspecies recognized.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,200,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	unknown	-	-	-
Generation length	3.48 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as locally common to uncommon (Harris and Franklin 2000). The trend direction for this population is difficult to determine given that there is evidence for both regional increases and decreases (Harris and Franklin 2000).

Trend justification: The trend direction for this population is difficult to determine given that there is evidence for both regional increases and decreases (Harris and Franklin 2000).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Benin	extant	native	yes
Burkina Faso	extant	native	yes
Cameroon	extant	native	yes
Central African Republic	extant	native	yes
Chad	extant	native	yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native	yes
Côte d'Ivoire	extant	native	yes
Gambia	extant	native	yes
Ghana	extant	native	yes
Guinea	extant	native	yes
Guinea-Bissau	extant	native	yes
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Mali	extant	native	yes
Mauritania	extant	native	yes
Niger	extant	native	yes
Nigeria	extant	native	yes
Senegal	extant	native	yes
Sierra Leone	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native	yes
Sudan	extant	native
Togo	extant	native	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Benin	Ouémé river basin
Benin	Pendjari National Park
Benin	W du Bénin National Park
Burkina Faso	Arli - W - Singou complex
Burkina Faso	Bérégadougou hill
Burkina Faso	Diéfoula - Logoniégué forest
Burkina Faso	Kaboré Tambi - Nazinga - Sissili complex
Burkina Faso	Lake Kompienga
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou forest
Cameroon	Bénoué National Park
Cameroon	Faro National Park
Cameroon	Gashiga - Demsa
Cameroon	Mayo-Louti Forest Reserve
Cameroon	Ngaoundaba Ranch
Central African Republic	André Félix National Park complex
Central African Republic	Bamingui-Bangoran National Park complex
Central African Republic	Bozoum
Central African Republic	Manovo - Gounda - St Floris National Park complex
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	Garamba National Park
Côte d'Ivoire	Comoe National Park
Gambia	Birufu - Darsilami area
Gambia	Kiang West National Park
Ghana	Bui National Park
Ghana	Damongo Scarp Forest Reserve
Ghana	Digya National Park
Ghana	Gambaga Scarp (East) Forest Reserve
Ghana	Gbele Resource Reserve
Ghana	Mole National Park
Ghana	Shai Hills Resource Reserve
Guinea	Balandougou
Guinea	Chutes de la Sala
Guinea	Grandes Chutes
Guinea	Kabitaï
Guinea	Mafou
Guinea-Bissau	Cantanhez forests
Guinea-Bissau	Dulombi
Guinea-Bissau	Lagoas de Cufada
Guinea-Bissau	Rio Mansôa and Gêba estuary
Guinea-Bissau	Rio Tombali, Rio Cumbijã and Ilha de Melo
Kenya	Mount Elgon (Kenya)
Mali	Boucle du Baoulé
Mali	Falaise de Bandiagara
Mali	Sirakoroni - Tyènfala
Niger	'W' National Park
Niger	Makalondi district
Nigeria	Amurum woodlands (Taboru)
Nigeria	Assop Falls and hills
Nigeria	Falgore and Lame Burra Game Reserves
Nigeria	Gashaka-Gumti National Park
Nigeria	Hadejia-Nguru wetlands
Nigeria	Kagoro - Nindam Forest Reserves and vicinity
Nigeria	Kainji Lake National Park
Nigeria	Kamuku National Park
Nigeria	Pandam Wildlife Park
Nigeria	Sunvit Farm
Nigeria	Yankari Game Reserve
Senegal	Delta du Saloum
Senegal	Parc National du Niokolo-Koba
South Sudan	Ashana
South Sudan	Bandingilo
South Sudan	Imatong mountains
South Sudan	Juba
South Sudan	Kidepo
South Sudan	Nimule
South Sudan	Southern National Park
South Sudan	Sudd (Bahr-el-Jebel system)
Sudan	Lake Kundi
Togo	Kéran National Park
Togo	Oti Valley Faunal Reserve
Uganda	Kidepo Valley National Park
Uganda	Mount Kei Forest Reserve
Uganda	Murchison Falls National Park

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Savanna	Dry	major	resident
Altitude	500 - 2200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	subsistence, national

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Yellow-billed Shrike Lanius corvinus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/yellow-billed-shrike-lanius-corvinus 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.