Pepłowska-Marczak et al., 2019, Biologica Nyssana 10(1) 10 (1) September 2019: 63-64 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3464012 New observations of the Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 in Southeastern Serbia Short Communication Danuta Pepłowska-Marczak Kampinos National Park, Department of Science and Monitoring, Tetmajera Street 38, Izabelin, Poland sowa.ruda@gmail.com Dawid Marczak University of Ecology and Management in Warsaw, Olszewska Street 12, Warsaw, Poland dawid.marczak@gmail.com Saša S. Stanković University of Niš, Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia sasasta@gmail.com (corresponding author) Received: December 10, 2018 Revised: Mart 21, 2019 Accepted: August 13, 2019 Abstract: During the period from 2013 to 2018 three observations of the Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758) were made. One pair and two single males were observed in the Southeastern Serbia on three localities. Localities of the three records were marked on the UTM map of Serbia and UTM codes were given. Key words: Lanius senator, Woodchat Shirke, birds of Serbia Apstrakt: Nova opažanja crvenoglavog svračka Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 u jugoistočnoj Srbiji U periodu od 2013. do 2018. godine zabeležena su tri zapažanja crvenoglavog svračka (Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758). Jedan par i dva samca su primećeni u jugoistočnoj Srbiji na tri lokaliteta. Lokal- iteti ovih zapisa označeni su na UTM mapi Srbije i date su UTM šifre. Ključne reči: Lanius senator, crvenoglavi svračak, ptice Srbije Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 is a rare breeding species recorded in several regions of Serbia (Puzović et al., 2015, Šćiban et al., 2015). This species occurs in open areas with shrubs, usu- ally on the hills (Šćiban et al., 2015). In Serbia the size of population is estimated at 580-790 nesting pairs, out of which in Serbia without Kosovo i Meto- hija 280-390 nesting pairs respectively. It is estimat- ed that its population is increasing (Puzović et al., 2015). Woodchat Shrike breeds in west Palearctic in middle and lower middle latitudes mainly in Medi- terranean climatic zone (Snow & Perrins, 1998). The most northern distribution is in Northern Poland, in Gdansk Pomerania (Neubauer, 2013). In this short note we report three new observations of this species in Southeastern Serbia, from 2013 to 2018. Observations were made using Leica 10x50 binoculars, while birdwatching in Serbia. During this period, L. senator individuals were spotted on the following localities (Fig 1): 1. One pair observed in suitable nesting habitat in breeding season. 17.07.2013. Milovanci, near Vlasina lake, Southeastern Serbia. UTM grid code: FN12 (42°40’50.54’’ N, 22°21’52.98’’ E) On the map marked with black triangle (Fig 1). Obs. Da- nuta Pepłowska-Marczak, Dawid Marczak. 2. One adult male observed in breeding season in possible nesting habitat. 26.07.2017. Čar near the border between Serbia and FYR Macedonia, South- eastern Serbia. UTM grid code: EM57 (42°15’43.27’’ N, 21°42’45.40’’ E) On the map marked with black square (Fig 1). Obs. Danuta Pepłowska-Marczak, Dawid Marczak. 3. One adult male observed in breeding season in possible nesting habitat. 10.05. 2018. Ivanje, near Leskovac, Southeastern Serbia. UTM grid code: EN46 (43°00’11.54’’ N, 21°35’07.96’’ E). On the map marked with black circle (Fig 1). Obs. Da- nuta Pepłowska-Marczak, Dawid Marczak, Saša Stanković. Observed individuals occurred in the open area mostly dry meadows covered with individual low bushes. The presence of thorny shrubs, mainly from the family Rosaceae such as Pyrus spp., Crataegus monogyna Jacq., Prunus spinosa L. and others was notable (Fig 2). The males in all cases showed ter- ritorial behaviors, with breeding status: possible breeder or probable breeding. © 2019 Pepłowska-Marczak et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non- commercially under the same license as the original. 63 BIOLOGICA NYSSANA ● 10 (1) September 2019: 63-64 Pepłowska-Marczak et al. ● New observations of the Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator Linnaeus, 1758 in Southeastern Serbia These observations of L. senator represent a con- tribution to the distribution and population census of this species, and also the need of protection of its habitat. Fig 1. UTM map of Serbia with tree localities where Wood- chat Shrike specimens were spotted. Locality 1: Milovan- ci, near Vlasina lake; black triangle. Locality 2: Čar, Ser- bia and FYR Macedonia border; black square. Locality 3: Ivanje, near Leskovac; black circle Fig 2. Typical habitat of Woodchat Shrike. Ivanje, South- eastern Serbia. Photo S. Stanković References Neubauer, G. 2013. 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