Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Shrikes (Laniidae)

Codes: Common Name: LOSH Scientific Name: LANLUD ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178515

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Overview

Loggerhead Shrike: Medium shrike with gray upperparts and paler gray underparts. Mask is black and throat is white. Bill is heavy and slightly hooked. Wings are black with white patches. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Low, swift flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

Range and Habitat

Loggerhead Shrike: Breeds from southern British Columbia, central Alberta, central Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, southern Ontario, and southern Quebec, south throughout the U.S. Spends winters in the southern half of its breeding range. Preferred habitats include grasslands, orchards, and open areas with scattered trees.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"queedle- queedle"

Interesting Facts

The Loggerhead Shrike is most well known for its innovative use of barbed-wire and chain-link fences to impale its prey to cache for later. It is also called butcherbird or French Mockingbird.

Decline in population over the past years is not well understood, but may be due to decreased winter survivability and vehicle collisions, particularly involving juvenile birds. They are listed endangered in Maryland and Virginia and a species of special concern (SSC) in West Virginia. They are only still relatively common in Florida.

The San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike subspecies has been listed as endangered since 1977, with population numbers reaching as low as 14 individuals. Currently there are captive breeding and release programs in use to help increase their numbers.

A group of shrikes are collectively known as an "abbatoir" and a "watch" of shrikes.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Loggerhead Shrike

● Song: "queedle- queedle"

● Foraging & Feeding: Loggerhead Shrike: Feeds on small vertebrates and invertebrates; hunts from a low perch in a tree, shrub, or power line, often catching prey on the ground. Maintains a food larder; impales prey on thorns or barbed wire.

● Breeding & nesting: Loggerhead Shrike: Four to seven white to gray eggs, marked with gray, brown or black, are laid in a bulky nest made of twigs and grass, lined with plant down and feathers, and set in a thorny shrub or tree. Incubation ranges from 16 to 17 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Loggerhead Shrike: Northern Shrike is larger, paler, has faintly barred underparts, and black mask that does not extend across the top of bill.

Flight Pattern

Rapid flight with quick wing strokes.

● Range & Habitat: Loggerhead Shrike: Breeds from southern British Columbia, central Alberta, central Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, southern Ontario, and southern Quebec, south throughout the U.S. Spends winters in the southern half of its breeding range. Preferred habitats include grasslands, orchards, and open areas with scattered trees.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.7 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America