What does lanius mean?

Definitions for lanius
la·nius

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word lanius.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Lanius, genus Laniusnoun

    type genus of the Laniidae: typical shrikes

Wikipedia

  1. Lanius

    Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.African species are known as fiscals. That name comes from the Afrikaans word fiskaal ("public official", especially a hangman), because they hang their prey on thorns for storage. Most Lanius species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but the great grey shrike has a circumpolar distribution, and the loggerhead shrike is confined to North America. There are no members of this genus or the shrike family in South America or Australia. Lanius shrikes are birds of open habitats typically seen perched upright on a prominent perch like a treetop or a telephone pole. They sally out for prey, taken in flight or the ground. These species primarily take large insects, but will also take small birds, reptiles and mammals. For large northern species such as the great grey, the majority of the prey will be vertebrates, especially in winter. Despite their diet, these are not true birds of prey, and lack the strong talons of the raptors. Though they use their feet to hold smaller insects, larger prey items are impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn or the barbs of barbed wire. Thus secured they can be ripped open with the hooked bill. Most Lanius shrikes are solitary, except when breeding and are highly territorial. Northern or temperate species such as the great grey and red-backed shrikes are migratory and winter well south of the breeding range. The sexes of most species are distinguishable, the male invariably being the brighter bird where there is a difference. There are some natural groupings within the genus, such as the seven African fiscals, the large grey species (ludovicianus, excubitor, meridionalis and sphenocercus) and the Eurasian brown-backed species (tigrinus, bucephalus, collurio, isabellinus, cristatus and gubernator). In the last group in particular, it has been difficult to define species’ boundaries, and in the past several of these shrikes have been lumped as conspecific. The prehistoric shrike Lanius miocaenus has been described from Early Miocene fossils found at Langy, France.

ChatGPT

  1. lanius

    Lanius is a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family, known for their habit of catching insects, small birds, or mammals and impaling their bodies on thorns. This behavior serves the dual purpose of immobilizing the prey for eating and marking territory. They are also sometimes referred to as butcher birds due to this behavior. The word "Lanius" is Latin for "butcher".

Wikidata

  1. Lanius

    Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. African species are known as fiscals. That name comes from the Afrikaans word fiskaal, because they hang their prey on thorns for storage. Most Lanius species occur in Eurasia and Africa, but the Great Grey Shrike has a circumpolar distribution, and the Loggerhead Shrike is confined to North America. There are no members of this genus or the shrike family in South America or Australia. Lanius shrikes are birds of open habitats typically seen perched upright on a prominent perch like a treetop or a telegraph pole. They sally out for prey, taken in flight or the ground. These species primarily take large insects, but will also take small birds, reptiles and mammals. For large northern species such as the Great Grey, the majority of the prey will be vertebrates, especially in winter. Despite their diet, these are not true birds of prey, and lack the strong talons of the raptors. Though they use their feet to hold smaller insects, larger prey items are impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn or the barbs of barbed wire. Thus secured they can be ripped open with the hooked bill.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. LANIUS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lanius is ranked #41303 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Lanius surname appeared 527 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Lanius.

    96.5% or 509 total occurrences were White.
    2% or 11 total occurrences were Black.
    0.9% or 5 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.

Matched Categories

Anagrams for lanius »

  1. lusian

  2. insula

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of lanius in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of lanius in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Popularity rank by frequency of use

lanius#100000#130742#333333

Translations for lanius

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"lanius." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/lanius>.

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