Southern Fiscal
Lanius collaris
Also known as: Common Fiscal, Fiscal Shrike
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
36 g
About This Species
This bold shrike perches conspicuously on fence posts, wires, and bare branches across southern African savanna, farmland, and gardens, scanning for large insects, small reptiles, and other prey it may impale on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. Its black-and-white plumage and upright, watchful posture make it easy to pick out even at a distance. It is present year-round and can be found readily wherever open perches overlook grassy or cultivated ground.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A distance of around 10-15 metres is generally sufficient, as this species is often tolerant of people in farmland and garden settings, though it should still be given space if it is actively hunting or attending a nest.
- Wildlife protection law for native birds applies across the countries of southern Africa where it occurs, but specific provisions vary between countries, so local regulations should be checked rather than assumed.
- Avoid disturbing larders of impaled prey, which represent a food cache the bird relies on.
LCAvesPasseriformesLaniidae
Seasonal Activity
375,946 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Laniidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 36 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.