The Northern Shrike, as the photograph
below shows, is a mostly grey and white bird with
a black "bandit" mask through its eyes. It has black
wings, each with a small white patch, and its tail
feathers are mostly black with the exception of
the outer tail feathers that are white. At about
9-10 inches, this robin-sized bird, at first glance,
resembles a Northern mockingbird.
However, if you are lucky enough to see and watch a N. Shrike, you will start to distinguish field marks and movements that are very un-mockingbird like.
- The grey domed head is large and rounded,
- Its upper bill is solid black whereas the lower bill is whitish near the base; and the bill is sharply hooked,
- Unlike a mockingbird, when a Northern Shrike is discovered perched on
a utility wire or at the edge of a field it
is looking for prey.
Perhaps the most amazing, and disarming, fact about
Northern Shrikes is that they are songbirds that
have adapted a raptor-like existence. They hunt
and eat large insects, mice and small birds, which
they either pursue in the air or pounce upon from
a watchful perch. Unlike a hawk, falcon or owl,
Shrikes do not have strong killing feet and talons;
they usually kill their prey with one or two quick
stunning blows with their powerful bills. Unique
among birds, the Northern Shrike often does not
immediately eat its prey; usually it will cache
the food by impaling it on a thorn or hanging it
in the crotch of a tree. In this dangling position,
the mouse or bird will either be eaten by the Shrike,
or will be left as reserve for another time while
it continues hunting.
Northern Shrikes breed in the Hudsonian and Canadian
zones of northern North America and winter in southern
Canada and northern parts of the United States.
When there is a scarcity of mice and lemmings in
those wintering areas, N. Shrikes will move even
farther south perhaps reaching Ohio or southern
New England. This pattern of expanding southward
during winters of reduced food resources appears
to be somewhat cyclical and is similar to the same
observations made regarding Snowy owls.
The Northern Shrike is a rare winter visitor to
Block Island and yet there have been several sightings
of this species between November 2004 and this writing
in mid-January 2005. Could the presence of the
Northern Shrike be a harbinger of a winter 2005
Snowy owl sighting on Block Island? Perhaps.
But at the moment it is the striking Northern Shrike
that is in our midst. Most recently this bird was
seen on both sides of Andy's Way off Corn Neck Road.
For more information go to: www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Northern_Shrike.html
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