What Is A Shrike Bird

Introducing the shrike

Shrikes are medium-sized predatory birds that belong to the family of shrikes, or the family of pinnipeds , and the order of passeriformes.

The shrike is characterized by a strong beak that enables it to kill insects, lizards, mice, and small birds. This bird is famous for hanging its prey on pointed objects, just as the butcher attaches meat to the hook, so it is also called the butcher bird. .

It has been reported that the Messenger – may blessings and peace be upon him – has forbidden the killing of the shrike because there is no benefit or interest in killing it, so it is forbidden.

Description of the shrike

The colors of shrikes vary according to their types, some of which appear green, yellow, or red, but most shrikes have something like a black mask on their face, their belly is white, and the upper parts of their body are either black or gray. Or burgundy, or reddish brown.

The male shrike often does not differ from the females, with a few exceptions, including the red-backed shrike. The chicks of the shrike are brown in color, with wavy lines in their feathers. The length of the shrike ranges from 14.5 to 50 cm, and it weighs between 18 and 18 kg. 100 gm, depending on the type to which it belongs.

The sound of the shrike

The shrike does not have a stunning voice, but rather has a number of diverse and interesting sounds, which vary between sharp clicks, weak clicks, strong rattles, and some musical notes. In the spring, the male makes short sounds or a number of various tones, in terms of Rhythm, tone, and quality.

Note that both sexes have a specific song, which is close to the spring mating song, and it also makes a sharp sound when it detects an intruder or predator.

Shrike food

The northern shrike does not eat fruits and other plants, but rather eats insects and small vertebrates during the summer. As for the rest of the year, it eats other insects, such as spiders, as well as small songbirds and some small mammals .

At other times, it eats various types of lizards, as it captures its prey with its feet and beak, after searching for its trace and observing it, and then pounces on the prey, which is sometimes during flight. Although these birds are heavier than him.

Shrike species

There are many types of shrike birds, including: bush-shrikes, the bell-shrike, the white helmet shrike and the big-headed shrike., and the great gray shrike .

The shrike is white helmeted

The white-helmeted shrike (Prionops plumatus) can be distinguished from the white feathers that surround the beak and cover its forehead completely like a helmet, while the top of its head, sides, and cheeks are gray, with a dark stripe on the sides of and around the neck, and the upper parts are The body of the bird is blackish-green, with a white stripe on the tips of the wings.

As for the belly of the white-helmet shrike, it is white in color, and this bird has a black-green beak, yellow eyes, and orange-yellow legs. The length of the white-helmet shrike ranges between 19 to 25 cm, and weighs 25 to 37 g. Females are slightly larger in size than males. .

The white-helmeted shrikes are distinguished as social birds that live in flocks of 3-24 individuals, and use a range of disparate sounds to communicate with each other, such as one alerting the rest of the individuals to the presence of prey, or intruders, or alerting to the presence of deficiencies in the nest, and the sound made by the bird varies He controls the sound made by his subordinate birds.

The white-faced shrikes reach sexual maturity when they reach the second year of life. However, they may not have the opportunity to mate before reaching the age of five. Because mating is allowed to the dominant male and his partner only, while the rest of the individuals must help build the nest, incubate the eggs, protect the chicks and feed them, and the advantages of the dominant bird extend so that it has priority in obtaining food, and the best place in the roost.

The big-headed shrike

The big-headed shrike (scientific name: Lanius ludovicianus) is a large-sized shrike, with a body length of 21 cm and a weight of 48 g. This bird has a large head, as indicated by its name, and covers its eyes with what looks like a mask of black feathers, and the color of the upper parts is Its body is gray, with a white stripe on the shoulder, and the lower part of the wing is black, and the lower parts of the body are white, and sometimes have a striped texture.

The shrike kills its prey by breaking its neck, and uses its beak to cut the spinal cord, then carries its prey, which may be equal to it in weight, to a fence, or a thorny bush, and fixes its prey on it and begins to devour it, and often resorts to this trick, because its claws are not strong enough to stabilize the prey. Among their favorite foods: beetles and grasshoppers, and they also feed on small vertebrates, such as: lizards, small birds, snakes, bats, fish, mice, and minnows (plural mole).

The big-headed shrikes usually mate in the spring, and they are often monogamous, except that some females may mate with a second male, and thus they can produce two hatchings of eggs during one breeding season, and they can also mate with other types of shrikes, Both parents participate in collecting the materials needed to build the nest, but the female alone undertakes the task of building, and she incubates the eggs, which number between 5-7 eggs, for about 16 days.

And the task of the male during this period is to feed the mother, then the parents participate again in feeding the chicks and taking care of them for a period of 17 to 20 days, and even after the chicks leave the nest it is noted that they return to it at night to enjoy the warmth provided by the mother to them, and the parents continue to feed the chicks for a period of up to 3 weeks after leaving the nest.

The great gray shrike

The body length of the great gray shrike (Lanius excubitor) ranges between 22-23 cm, and its weight ranges between 48 and 80 g. As for its wingspan, it ranges between 30-36 cm. The color of the upper parts of its body is pearl gray . A black line extends from the sides of the beak to the eyes, all the way to the ears.

As for the cheeks, chin, and above the eyes, it is white, and it has black wings with bundles of white feathers. As for the shoulders, they are covered with white feathers. The tail is black except for the tip, which is white. As for the abdomen, it is gray or white in color.

The large gray shrikes often mate monogamously, but due to the occurrence of additional mating cases, the type of mating can be considered semi-multiple, as the male flirts with the female by flapping wings and singing quietly, and it is also known for males to provide some food to females as gifts before Mating, and the female lays between 3-9 eggs in one hatch, and the eggs are gray or blue in color, with yellow, red-brown, and grayish-purple spots.

The mother incubates the eggs for a period ranging from 16 to 21 days, and the male provides her with food during this period. The gray shrike babies weigh approximately 4 grams when hatched, and are blind, with gray skin without feathers. However, between the second and third week, feathers are formed. It enables it to fly, and the chick begins to rely on itself after that, with a period ranging between 3-6 weeks.