Loggerhead Shrike
Little in the Loggerhead Shrike’s appearance, apart perhaps from its sharply hooked beak, suggests a violent nature. Yet this unassuming songbird has the appetite of a raptor, along with a somewhat macabre feeding habit that has earned it the nickname “butcherbird”. Like falcons, shrikes kill their prey—from grasshoppers to lizards and other birds—with a sharp strike to the spine. However, shrikes lack the powerful talons for which raptors (Latin for “tearer”) are named. To compensate, the shrike will impale its prey on a thorn, or even barbed wire, to help it rip the meat into manageable chunks. Sometimes, shrikes will leave their prey skewered for days on end, either to save it for later or, if the prey is poisonous, to allow the toxins in its body to degrade. The Loggerhead Shrike can be seen year-round in central Texas, watching from treetops or fenceposts for its next meal.
