Soon the “Butcher Bird” will leave us for points further north. The Northern Shrike gets is nickname for various reasons … perhaps because it breaks the neck of its prey … or perhaps because it impales its prey on barbed wire (think storage for future consumptions). This bird attacks birds almost its same size. In short this is a bird with an attitude!
Northern Shrike this morning in Sax-Zim Bog
Hello Richard,
Great images as always. Last year we had a N. Shrike a good part of the spring and summer months here. I have also seen them in Texas in the early Fall. They seem to be more widespread in some area for longer stays. Don
I suspect those shrikes might have been Loggerhead Shrikes which look darned similar, but hang out further south. Northern Shrikes breed in the northern reaches pf Hudson Bay.