Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike, Immature, 1st winter; Long Lake NWR, ND; February

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A predatory songbird, the Northern Shrike breeds in taiga and tundra and winters in southern Canada and the northern United States. It feeds on small birds, mammals, and insects, sometimes impaling them on spines or barbed wire fences.

Cool Facts

• The Northern Shrike, like other shrikes, kills more prey, if it can, than it can immediately eat or feed to nestlings. Such behavior was characterized by early observers as "wanton killing," but the Northern Shrike stores excess prey to eat later. Storing food is an adaptation for surviving periods of food scarcity.
• The Latin species name of the Northern Shrike, Lanius excubitor, means "Butcher watchman."

• The nest of the Northern Shrike is an open cup, but it is so deep that while incubating, the female is completely out of view except for the tip of her tail.

• Both male and female Northern Shrikes sing throughout year. The male sings especially in late winter and early spring.

Description

• Size: 23-24 cm (9-9 in)
• Wingspan: 30-35 cm (12-14 in)
• Weight: 56-79 g (1.98-2.79 ounces)

• Medium-sized songbird.
• Gray back.
• Whitish throat and chest.
• Black mask.
• Large head.
• Medium-long tail.
• Stout bill with hook at end.
• Wings black with white patch.
• Tail black with white outer feathers.

• Faint wavy gray barring across chest.
• Bill black, with base of lower mandible pale in winter.
• Narrow white stripe above face mask.
• Black of mask not extending over bill.
• Eyes dark brown.
• Legs and feet black.

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female may have slightly duller black wings and more muted gray upperparts.

Immature

Similar to adult, but more brownish, with more distinct barring on chest, and less distinct mask.

Similar Species

• Loggerhead Shrike is smaller overall, with a smaller, all black bill, and a fuller black mask that often extends across the forehead. Immature Loggerhead Shrike is gray, not brownish.
• Northern Mockingbird similarly colored, but lacks the black mask and has a narrow, pointed bill.

Sound

Song is a complex and variable sequence of harsh notes, chatter, trills, and whistles. Calls include a rapid rasping "aak?aak" and a sharp metallic "beek."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and far northern Canada. Also breeds from northern Eurasia to northern Africa, the Middle East, and India.

Winter Range

Winters from southern portion of breeding range southward to the northern United States, from northern California to southern New York and Massachusetts. Northern Shrikes in the Old World winter within breeding range, with northern populations migrating south.

Habitat

Breeds in taiga and at the border of taiga and tundra, in open country with medium or tall trees or shrubs. Winters in open country with tall perches, including shrubby fields, wetlands, and forest edges.

Food

Insects, small mammals, birds, and rarely, reptiles.

Behavior

Foraging

Generally sits and waits on an exposed perch. Seizes prey near ground with feet or bill. Kills vertebrates by biting through neck. Removes wings, spines, and stingers from insects. Often impales prey, sometimes while prey is still alive, on thorns, spines, or barbed wire. May pull impaled prey and consume it right away, or may leave it for later consumption.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Large, bulky cup of twigs and roots, woven through with feathers and hair. Compact inner lining made of grasses, small feathers, and hair. Placed in trees and shrubs.

Egg Description

Grayish or greenish white, heavily marked with brown spots and blotches.

Clutch Size

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with little down.

Conservation Status

Population trends are difficult to assess because of the Northern Shrike's rarity and remoteness of its breeding habitat. Large areas of suitable breeding habitat in Alaska and northern Canada are protected.

Other Names

Pie-grièche grise (French)
Great Grey Shrike (British) (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Cade, T. J., and E. C. Atkinson. 2002. Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor). In The Birds of North America, No. 671 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.