Birdzilla
Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 128
Location: mckinney,TEXAS
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 9:27 pm Post subject: Butcher Bird at Work |
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On a recent birding trip I noticed a dead junco wedged into the fork of a tree limb. After waiting quitely for about 5 minutes the suspected culprit turned up right on cue, anxious to complete his dinner.
The predator in question was a Loggerhead Shirke, often called a Butcher Bird. It got its common name from its habit of impaling its victims; grasshoppers, small mice and even small birds, on barbed wire fences or thorns.
About the same size as a mockingbird, it almost looks like one also, but has a broad dark mask through the eye and darker wings. |
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