Bird of the year in Portugal

Every year are elected “birds of the year” by several organizations around the world in a way to call for attention to real facts for wildlife conservation and their habitats.
In 2009 SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds) has chosen the Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator as the “Bird of the Year 2009”. This decision will be associated with another project “Semear o Futuro II – uma agricultura com biodiversidade” in a way to join biodiversity with farming.
The woodchat shrike is very easy to find in Alentejo, Portugal, during the summer, but is also distributed along the Portuguese territory and also in the inner Algarve. It’s very easy to identify, being mostly black and white but with a broad red patch on the crown and nape. Normally stands on top of bushes, trees and fences, feeding of insects and small lizards.