Tuesday Tweets

The northern shrike may appear to be just another songbird but if one shows up to your feeders it is not there for the seeds. The scientific name of the northern shrike is Lanius excubitor which translates as "Butcher watchman." The northern shrike is a predator. It eats insects, mice and small birds. It hunts by perching on an exposed branch and then ambushing its prey. It does not have strong feet with talons like the raptors so it catches it in its beak to catch its prey and then it will often impale the prey on a stick or barbed wire to hold the prey while it uses a notch on its beak to severe the spinal cord. Often they will take more prey then they can eat and then cache the extra away for leaner times. As there name would suggest these birds are found in the northern portion of North America. They breed up near the arctic circle in Alaska and Canada and then winter in southern Canada and the northern half of the United States. This bird was wintering at the Alamosa NWR in Colorado which is where I took this pic.

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Northern Shrike

The northern shrike is a songbird that is slightly smaller then a robin. They breed up up in the Arctic Circle of Alaska and Canada. During the winter you may find them around your feeder if you live in the northern half of the United States. Unlike the other birds they are not there for the nyjer thistle, cracked corn or other type of seed. You see the northern shrike is a bird eater. They do not have the powerful talons that raptors use to catch their prey so they have to use their beaks instead. They also have been known to use tools, like barbed wire and twigs, to impale their prey. They often kill more prey then they can eat, which is how they received the scientific name Lanius excubitor, roughly translated this means butcher watchman. However the northern shrike will actually cache excess food for times when prey is scarce.