The family name, and that of the larger genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as butcherbirds because of the habit, particularly of males, of impaling prey onto plant spines within their territories.

[2] The family Laniidae was introduced (as the subfamily Lanidia) in 1815 by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque.

Male shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling them on thorns, branches, the spikes on barbed-wire fences, or any available sharp point.

[8] The primary function of conspicuously impaling prey on thorny vegetation is however thought to be for males to display their fitness and the quality of the territory held to prospective mates.

[12] Loggerhead shrikes kill vertebrates by using their beaks to grab or pierce the neck and violently shake their prey.

Shrikes make regular use of exposed perch sites, where they adopt a conspicuous upright stance.

[14] In 1575, this was noted by the English poet George Turberville.She will stand at perch upon some tree or poste, and there make an exceedingly lamentable crye.

Males attract females to their territory with well-stocked caches, which may include inedible but brightly coloured items.

During courtship, the male performs a ritualised dance which includes actions that mimic the skewering of prey on thorns, and feeds the female.

Shrikes make simple, cup-shaped nests from twigs and grasses, in bushes and the lower branches of trees.