Diet composition and prey choice of the Southern grey shrike Lanius meridionalis L. in South-eastern Spain: the importance of vertebrates in the diet

The Southern grey shrike consumes several beetle types, grasshoppers, and, during the breeding period, lizards. Birds and small mammals are captured incidentally. It consistently rejects prey smaller than 10 mm long, and prey are larger during the breeding period and summer. Compared with other populations of Southern grey shrike and also with Northern grey shrike, the population studied here shows a greater importance of lizards in the diet. Birds and mammals, which are progressively more frequent in diet as latitude increases, both in breeding and wintering periods, are here at low frequency.

Jose A. HODAR, Ardeola 53(2):237-249, 2006