Yikes - A Shrike!

[Northern Shrike, Photo Source]

Here’s one you don’t see every day – or at least I’ve never seen one before. While out for my regular noon-time walk when something caught my eye just off the edge of the walking path. I looked to my left and saw a very distinctive looking bird perched about 2 feet off the ground on some dead branches. Didn’t know what it was – thought perhaps some sort of flycatcher, but after dinging around on Google, stumbled on the Northern Shrike.

Now that I know more I realize that if I would have looked closer, perhaps I could have seen its lunch impaled on a small twig or branch. The Northern Shrike is a “predatory” songbird. Because it lacks the talons of a raptor, it is known to kill it's preay by impaling it on a twig, branch, or sometimes on barbed wire.

Many great bird photos, including the shot of the Northern Shrike above, at Mike’s Birding and Digiscoping Blog.

This Wikipedia entry shows a Shrike with a rodent mouse impaled on a thorn.