Bird of the Week 4/15 - 4/19
butcherbird
Hi all,
This week’s bird is the: Loggerhead Shrike
1) At first glance, this bird looks like another friendly neighborhood bird that loves socializing with its chickadee friends at the bird feeder and taking long walks on the beach. Guess again... This bird is also known as the butcherbird or thornbird.
2) The Loggerhead Shrike is an efficient predator that hunts insects, rodents and even other birds. Many of these prey are very large, and the Shrike doesn't have the large talons of a raptor to capture and kill its prey. Instead the butcherbird goes straight for the spinal cord with its beak...
3) And if that wasn't gruesome enough, it then impales its prey on thorny bushes or barbed wire to eat the prey piecemeal - hence the name: butcherbird.
4) These birds like open spaces and fields. For Seattle subscribers, you will either have to get lucky searching at Union Bay, or head out to Eastern Washington. For everyone else, these birds are found in pretty much every US state outside of the Northeast.
5) Unfortunately, this is one of the many North American birds with a shrinking range. Scientists have identified different causes for the decline of this bird, including pesticide use and habitat loss.
Have a great week!