Date: 4/6/24 7:53 pm From: Allen Batt via Mnbird <mnbird...> Subject: [Mnbird] A shrike
A friend in Freeborn County sent me a photo of a shrike that had met its demise by colliding with a window this week. A shrike in the summer is a loggerhead, and one in the winter is a northern. This time of the year, who knows? They’re often called “butcher birds” and are both a songbird and a predator of songbirds. The shrike’s facial band tells the tale as far as ID goes. I couldn’t see where the mask met the bill in the photo. A loggerhead shrike has a thicker eye band. A northern shrike has a noticeably thinner eye band that doesn’t extend over the eyes or above the bill. The Lone Ranger wore a mask to keep his identity a secret. Not being able to see a mask kept this shrike’s identity a secret.
