loggerhead shrike

Loggerhead Shrike
In Texas, USA
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Laniidae
Genus:	Lanius
Species:	L. ludovicianus
Binomial name
Lanius ludovicianus Linnaeus, 1766

The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related Northern Shrike (L. excubitor) occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic.

The bird has a large hooked bill; the head and back are grey and the underparts white. The wings and tail are black, with white patches on the wings and white on the outer tail feather. The black face mask extends over the bill, unlike that of the similar but slightly larger Northern Shrike.

The bird breeds in semi-open areas in southern Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, south to Mexico. It nests in dense trees and shrubs. The female lays 4 to 8 eggs in a bulky cup made of twigs and grass.

The shrike is a permanent resident in the southern part of the range; northern birds migrate further south.

The bird waits on a perch with open lines of sight and swoops down to capture prey. Its principal food is large insects; it also takes lizards and small birds. Known in many parts as the "Butcher Bird," it impales its prey on thorns or barbed wire before eating it, because it does not have the talons of the larger birds of prey.

The population of this species has declined in the northeastern parts of its range, possibly due to loss of suitable habitat and pesticide use.

"Loggerhead" refers to the relatively large head as compared to the rest of the body.

Conservation status

The Loggerhead Shrike is critically endangered in Canada (although not in the United States). A captive population was established at the Toronto Zoo and McGill University in 1997. Ten offspring have been produced that will be released as an experiment.^[1]

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Lanius ludovicianus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

Wikispecies has information related to: Lanius ludovicianus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lanius ludovicianus

• [1] - Cricket-killing and mouse-killing behavior in Loggerhead Shrikes
• [2] - Effect of insecticides on the behavior of Loggerhead Shrikes
• Loggerhead Shrike Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Loggerhead Shrike Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Loggerhead Shrike - Lanius ludovicianus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Stamps (for Mexico) with RangeMap
• Loggerhead Shrike videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Loggerhead Shrike Bird Sound