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A fiscal shrike - do you have common names for those predatory shrike habits? (1 Viewer)

Sal

Well-known member
Tammie mentioned a shrike in her last posting, and I thought I'd post a photo of one of ours for comparison. We have about nine or ten true shrikes one of which is this fiscal shrike (Lanius collaris ), commonly known as the 'Jackie- hangman' because of its habit of impaling its prey on large thorns, such as those of some acacias. I wondered if anyone else had a descriptive and common name for shrikes with similar nasty habits in other countries?It is very common and often found in suburbia, hunting from telephone wires. I took this photo in the Drakensberg mountains, one of my favourite haunts and birding spots.
 

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Correct me on this, anyone, but aren't our shrikes among those birds refered to a butcher birds?
 
Nice photo Sal, stunning looking bird.

Birdman, They are indeed known as butcher birds probably to do with the way the spike thier prey. There was a photo somewhere last month I think, of a shrike that had bitten the head off a goldcrest, a superb action shot.
 
Sal

I have seen many shrikes around Europe and they all seem to have the same larder hhabits.

We had a Great grey Shrike not far from where we live at a place called Handsacre. One day I was talking to a lady that had come across this Shrikes larder quite by chance. There was a thorn bush with a few dead field mice impaled on it and whilst she was looking at it the bird arrived with another one and proceeded to impale that one as well. So actually they seem to store their kills as well.
 
I would imagine that there are still the odd pair hidden away in the Norfolk brecks somewhere, Its such a shame they have dissapeared as a breeding bird the males are great, and we don't get enough of them, its usually just scrubby brown birds.

As for GG shrike, the damn things keep hiding there are 2 a short distance away from the town I live in, 1 in either direction, I have tried to see 1 of them (Potsgrove,Beds) 7 times now and it still evades me this year ad that to the bird I didn't see in Scotland and the bird I haven't seen at Stewartby (beds) and I really like great grey shrike!!
 
Butcher bird is a very good name for such behaviour!
Thanks Rich for the picture, your great grey shrike is very similar to our lesser grey (Lanius minor) a few of which overwinter here, the rest are summer visitors. We also get the red-backed shrike in the summer but it does not usually come into the towns as the fiscal does.
 
Thanks for your pictures. The Northern Shrike I saw yesterday looked very similar to your Great Grey Shrike Rich, except mine appeared bigger. It's hard to tell with pictures though. How large is yours? Mine was a little larger than a blue jay.
Sal, the coloring of yours is totally different from this one. Very nice looking birds though! I'm keeping a closer eye on my feeders from now on as I saw this one yesterday just across the road from them!
 
I get the loggerhead shrike here in Texas. It looks a lot like the great gray shrike in color. I have also heard it called a butcher bird.
 
Northern Shrike

Lanius excubitor
Length 10"
WS 14.5"
WT 2.3 oz(65g)
The Butcher Bird it is here in our parts...and here is a pic to see them.
 

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Thanks Gaye,
That is definitely the bird I saw yesterday. I just wish I could have seen the face clearly... I would love to see that beak!
 
Tammie they are a beautiful bird but you do not want to see what they can do to a small bird... awful...
 
Red -backed Shrike is indeed called the Butcher Bird in old reference books. According to my guides the Great Grey also has this habit. I would stress that this is a very clever way of building a larder, and is done in periods when their favourite large insects and fledglings are in abundance. I certainly wouldn't call it cruel or shocking, it's just stocking up for leaner times. Here in France its name is Ecorcheur, which means skinner or ripper!! BTW it is again one of my favourite birds!! I call it the "Zorro" bird.
 
Redwing, you're correct - in fact the photo is still there on BirdGuides, if any one really wants to look, of the Great Grey Shrike with the Goldcrest's head in its bill and the body still spiked on the branch - Ugh!! Not for those with a weak stomach.
 
We also get the loggerhead shrike here in NC--I saw my first one just this past December, in a field just outside Charlotte. Didn't see its "larder", although it was perched near some barbed wire. It was smaller than I had expected, but I have heard it will attack birds as large as mourning doves.
 
Hi Ashley,
"As for GG shrike, the damn things keep hiding there are 2 a short distance away from the town I live in, 1 in either direction, I have tried to see 1 of them (Potsgrove,Beds) 7 times now and it still evades me this year ad that to the bird I didn't see in Scotland and the bird I haven't seen at Stewartby (beds) and I really like great grey shrike!!"
I sympathise with you,but try putting yourself in the shoes of about 95% of Irish birders.The species is a mega here,and doesn't usually hang around either:the top lister here needs it!
There was one in west Cork in autumn 1991(seen by the finder only)and then one on Sunday 9th Feb this year(but again,only seen by the finder for 5-10 mins).Some year we'll HAVE to get one that stays around for a while,but how long more must we wait?
Have seen 4 sp.of shrike here(in spite of the fact that all of them are rarities):Red-backed(x2),Woodchat(x2,incl.1 of the Balearic race badius,which would be a first for Ireland.Had been ID'd as a Woodchat,but some friends and I saw that it was prob.badius.Wrote an article in Birding World on it...!;-)),Isabelline(prob.nominate isabellinus,"Daurian Shrike")and Brown Shrike(prob.cristatus x lucionensis?).The latter two were Irish firsts,and I went for the Isabelline before Red-backed had been conclusively ruled out(but then,I DID still need Red-backed at the time....)
Wish we had at least 1 regular species of shrike,they're great birds.Have seen Red-backed and Woodchat impaling food items on thorns/branches over here,btw.
Harry
 
It never ceases to amaze me the differences between the british and the Irish birds, I have never struggled to see a bird as much as I am this shrike, usually if you miss it its gone or next time you go its there, I have missed this bird by as little as 10 mins either way, It gets very annoying.
 
Hi Ashley,
There HAVE been longer-staying Great Grey Shrikes over here,but not for 20+ years now.(and news didn't spread as quickly or freely back then,so most birders who were active then never heard about it until it had gone.Doesn't matter to me,was only a boy back then!)
Have spent a few days this winter in areas of clearfell well inland for no other reason than the slim chance that I may find one!
Your experiences with this shrike are like mine with a particular Red Kite that was at Dungarvan(Co.Waterford)back in 2001(or the recent Killdeer)...
Harry
 
Hi Tammie,
Maybe that's true,but the Red-backed that I saw making a larder was a juv/1st-w bird in late September(the Woodchat was at least in early June,but was a 1st-s female).I think that it's an instinctive habit in times of plenty,even in passage/vagrant birds.
There was a case a few years back where some birders in Co.Waterford kept finding shrike larders throughout the summer,but never saw the bird responsible for them!Could have been the first breeding attempt for Ireland of ANY shrike,though more likely to have been a lone summering bird,most likely Red-backed or maybe Woodchat,but perhaps even Lesser Grey..
Harry
 
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