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FEEDERWATCHERS' NOTEBOOK
Can you tell which of these birds are Loggerhead Shrikes and which are Northern Shrikes? Actually these closely related birds are not that difficult to distinguish between if you scrutinize them carefully and note their distinctive field marks. Northern Shrikes have noticeable barring on their underparts, and their masks are narrower and don't extend above their eyes, as do the masks of Loggerhead Shrikes. The broad, black mask of a Loggerhead Shrike also extends thinly across the top of its bill in birds of all ages, which helps to distinguish an immature loggerhead (which also has light barring underneath) from a Northern Shrike. In answer to the question above, the bird at the top is an adult Loggerhead Shrike; the two birds directly below it are Northern Shrikes, an adult on the left and an immature on the right; the shrike on the bottom left is an adult northern, while the one on the bottom right is and adult loggerhead.
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