Saturday, November 30, 2013

Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor)

This predatory songbird spends the summer months on the tundra and taiga and winters in southern Canada and northern U.S.

Lanius excubitor means "butcher bird"

It eats small mammals, birds and insects. It gets its Latin name from its habit of killing more victims than it can eat at one time and then impaling them on barbed wire or tree spines.
I am linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'  HERE.

22 comments:

  1. Yikes! Not a bird to be messed with.

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  2. I would not want to mess with this bird either.

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  3. Gosh EG, I didn't know we had these guys this far south. Great find and terrific shots!

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  4. radiates sweetness!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    =^..^= <3

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  5. So nice of him to pose for you.

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  6. I didn't know there were other shrikes besides the loggerhead until I ran across Anni's post today about the kiskadee. And now you present the Northern. Very pretty birds.

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  7. Pretty bird with bad habits, EG! ;-)

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  8. A beautiful bird with interesting behavior.

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  9. Nice looking bird - I like the faint lines in its chest.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne.

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  10. Lovely photos of a "new" bird for me!

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  11. what a handsome little bird - good shots - shame nature is so cruel - Jane UK

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  12. My goodness; all that energy from such a small lovely looking bird!

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  13. Absolutely gorgeous bird but so dangerous !
    Greetings !

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  14. Cool sighting and shots of the Shrike!

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  15. Great captures! I don't think I've heard of this one before. You are so knowledgable about the birds you see.

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  16. Beautiful images of the shrike. No hope of seeing one here in Florida, though I was lucky when I visited Churchill, Manitoba.

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