Loggerhead Shrikes
Another bird I am seeing frequently is the Loggerhead Shrike.
I sighted this song bird perched high in a tree above the Everglades NP Gulf Coast Visitor Center. I actually heard it first.
Loggerhead Shrike – there you are!
Most times I’m seeing one perched on a communications wire.
Oops, here’s one of them!
Loggerhead Shrike
It is called a “Loggerhead”, which is a synonym for “blockhead”, referring to this bird’s unusually large head in relation to its body.
It’s very attractive! 🥰 Maybe this one is just a wee bit smarter with the extra skull capacity.
Thank you, John, that just might be true! 😉
Also known as ‘Butcherbird’ for its unsavory habit of skewering its prey on thorns. Ick! 😮
I was going to mention its other nickname “butcherbird”. This song bird sings a beautiful song but acts a lot like a raptor.
I know some people like that. 😀
Unfortunately, I do too. 😀
Good looking bird! Terrific photos! Good work, my friend! 🙂
Thank you, HJ! 🙂
I have never seen a loggerhead shrike. Thanks for sharing – great pictures!
Thank you, Susan! I’ve never seen one around the mid-Atlantic either. But always a sighting any time I’ve gone to the Carolinas and south.
I think he’s far too attractive be called a loggerhead or a butcher bird, but ‘what’s in a name’? 🤣
Thank you, Sylvia, he is a beauty! 🙂
Great photos. I love the little bandit mask over the eyes.
Thank you, Imorgana, makes him a little sly-looking, huh?!! 😊
What a beauty! The shrikes who visit us during the winter have a different appearance, so it’s a real treat to see different types of these tiny (but mighty) hunters 🙂
Thank you, Takami! 🙂
It looks like a little bandit 😊. Very nice, Donna!
Thank you, Belinda! 🙂
Yes, that’s exactly it!
Thank you Imorgana!
Great shots of one of my favorite birds, Donna! It’s amazing how such plain colors can be so handsome.
One neat habit of this bird is storing some of its prey in the fork of a tree branch to form a “larder” it will use when food may be scarce, such as during winter.
Thank you, Wally! It is a strikingly handsome bird. 🙂 Thank you for sharing the storage system, I didn’t know about that. Pretty smart!
What a beautiful post
Thank you!
great capture!
Thank you, Jane!
Congratulations on this lifer, Donna (if I interpreted your first line correctly). I saw one only yesterday sitting on just such a wire. 😊
Oh, I just read how I typed my post and it does sound like I was saying it was my first sighting as a lifer. Sorry! I’ve captured this Shrike many times before years prior, I edited my beginning words in this post to be more clearer. 🙂
No problem, Donna. It was still a good capture.
Thank you, Tanja! 🙂
I love the shrikes. We saw 3 of them down in Ft. Desoto during New Years. What was interesting was they were close on vicinity. Never saw that in all the years of birding.
Thanks Lisa, I love their adorable little bandit look. 🙂
Me too. 😊