Although their range covers almost the entire southern half of North America, I had never seen a Loggerhead Shrike before last spring. Over the past two weeks, though, they seemed to be everywhere, sitting atop scrubby perches, surveying the landscape for some tasty prey.
Also known as ‘Butcher Birds‘, Loggerhead Shrikes are unusual in that they are song birds who are also predators. Despite their pretty little songbird appearance, they have a sharp, curved, hooked beak, perfect for snatching up insects, small birds, lizards, amphibians, and even small mammals.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, these little ‘masked bandits’ have quite the gruesome habit. They often impale their prey on sharp objects or branches to keep in storage for a later meal!
I noticed that they always seemed to perch not far from prickly bushes like this one, so I was looking all the time for evidence of their larder. But . . . . I didn’t find any little victims! 
To hear about this fascinating and unusual bird, listen to this brief Bird Note episode, and read more at: Audubon, All About Birds, and Archive.org
Birder's Journey 
Fun title, BJ — pretty. yet butchering, and it sums the loggerhead shrike up perfectly. Your description and photos (nice view of the deadly hooked bill) are great. 🙂
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Thanks a million for reading and commenting, Jet. I love your specific and thoughtful feedback.
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Great captures Carol! Times to see a variety of birds going your direction! 🙂
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Yes, H.J.! It’s that time of year again – seeing new birds every few days 😉
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Thanks for enlightening me to your Butcherbird. Our Grey Butcherbird visits me several times a day. And is becoming like a pet to me, he has a beautiful excited song which you hear around the streets a day. He baths in the dog’ water bowl:-)
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Sounds like your Butcherbird is quite domesticated 🙂
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A beautiful informative and very “fine” post! Great shot I love them!
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Thanks, Berny!
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I have seen them often here as well, and I knew about their cruel “habit”. But I have never found any evidence of it either. Great shots!
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Thanks, Tiny! Did you see this recent very cool image and article about our Shrikes from Scientific American, called ‘No Talons? No Problem’: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/symbiartic/no-talons-no-problem/
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I hadn’t seen this article and illustration. Thanks for sharing!
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