- Lanius excubitor
Identification
aka Great Grey Shrike. L 22-26 cm. Length - 10 in. Gray head and back, white belly.Black wings and tail with white markings. Black mask on face and distinctive hooked bill. Medium-sized songbird. Gray back. Whitish throat and chest. Black mask. Large head. Medium-long tail. Stout bill with hook at end. Wings black with white patch. Tail black with white outer feathers.
Size: 23-24 cm (9-9 in) Wingspan: 30-35 cm (12-14 in) Weight: 56-79 g (1.98-2.79 ounces)
Sexes similar, but female may have slightly duller black wings and more muted gray upperparts.
Distribution
Wide distribution, with habitat and habits different in S and N.
Taxonomy
Habitat
N European birds (ssp. excubitor) breed in upland birch forest, thinly pine-clad bogs, in clearings; short-range migrant. Southern populations (several races) live in more open, often dry country provided lookout posts (e.g. wires, trees) and nest sites (thick bushes) exist; resident.
Behaviour
Song is a complex and variable sequence of harsh notes, chatter, trills, and whistles. Calls include a rapid rasping "aak…aak" and a sharp metallic "beek."
These Shrikes are the only songbirds to consistently prey on vertebrate animals. They feed on small mammals and birds for much of year and often store uneaten prey by impaling it on thorns. This habit has earned them the nickname "butcher birds."
Normally a solitary hunter, it perches atop trees and scans for prey. When prey is sighted, the bird drops from its perch and flies low over the ground, in slightly undulating flight to the attack. It knocks flying victims to the ground with a blow from its bill or seizes them with its feet. Once on the ground, it kills with a series of bites. Like the bills of falcons, shrikes' bills are hooked, with a toothlike structure on the upper mandible and a corresponding notch on the lower bill. Their eyesight is comparable to that of diurnal raptors. Unlike raptors, however, the shrike lacks the powerful talons that hawks use to dispatch their prey. Another hunting strategy is to move through the branches of trees trying to flush birds, which are then pursued. Birds as large as Blue Jays and Mourning Doves may be taken, as well as many smaller birds such as chickadees, Snow Buntings, crossbills, sparrows, and redpolls. Mammalian prey includes lemmings, voles, and mice. Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, wasps, and caterpillars are also eaten and may make up to one-quarter of the shrike's diet in season. Prey is often carried to a thorny tree or shrub to be impaled. If it's hungry, the shrike consumes its prey at once, but sometimes food is left impaled for short-term storage.
Northern Shrikes sing a medley of short liquid trills and whistles and harsh notes and often mimic the calls and songs of other birds such as Blue Jays, Gray Catbirds, American Robins, and Song Sparrows. The call is a harsh shek-shek or a grating jaaeg.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Lanius excubitor (song).mp3</flashmp3>
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