📸 PhotoPhoto: J.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Brown Shrike
Lanius cristatus (Brown Shrike · アカモズ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 It is commonly seen everywhere across cities, suburbs, rural areas, and farmland (National List of Species of Korea).
- 💡 Its body length of 20 cm is almost the same as the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Brown Shrike is a summer visitor breeding throughout Korea, a small shrike commonly seen in both cities and rural areas.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
In winter plumage, the male has grayish-brown upperparts, pale buff flanks and underparts, a black eye stripe extending from beside the bill, and a grayish-white supercilium. Its cheeks, chin, and throat are white, and its bill, eyes, and legs are black.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It mainly eats insects and also preys on mammals and birds. It builds a bowl-shaped nest of grass and bark on tree branches, lays 4–7 eggs from late May to June, and stays together as a family after breeding.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
According to the National List of Species of Korea, it is a summer visitor distributed across lowland plains and hill forest edges throughout Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2024) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22705011/263845008
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • doi.org — avilist.v2026
- • iucnredlist.org — 263845008
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000001935 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000001935
- • wikidata.org — Q790616
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Brown Shrike I IMG 7367.jpg
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Zeynel Cebeci · CC BY 4.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Lanius collurio)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.