The Iberian grey shrike (Lanius meridionalis ) is a member of the shrike family. It is closely related to the great grey shrike, Lanius excubitor, and its plumage is generally similar to the great grey shrike apart from the differences noted below. The Iberian was previously considered conspecific with the great grey; where they co-occur, they do not interbreed and are separated by choice of habitat.
This medium-sized passerine bird eats large insects, small birds and rodents. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a "larder".
Butcher Birds are so called for their habit of keeping a "larder" of their prey stuck on spikes. These spikes used to take the form of hawthorn trees etc, but these have now largely been replaced by the ubiquitous barbed-wire, and it is not uncommon to find a grisly row of beetles, crickets, lizards and skinks etc hanging from a roadside fence. This is nowadays seen more as a territorial attraction for the female rather than as a larder for later consumption.
