This extremely rare true shrike is endemic to the miombo woodlands of Angola and Tanzania and only touches southern Africa in the north-eastern region's Kalahari sandveld Baikiaea woodlands and sporadically in Zambezi woodlands. Birds may be resident, but are easily overlooked for a variety of reasons; they also resemble pale-brown Red-Backed Shrikes L. collurio, and may be mistaken for juveniles of this species. Individuals have been recorded at Mpacha, near Katima Mulilo, at Nkasa Island on the Kwando River, in the Kavango woodlands at the neck of West Caprivi, and on the Chobe River. In addition, two birds have been reported from the Mahango area of the Bwabwata National Park.