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Northern Shrike

Lanius excubitorOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Shrikes (Laniidae)
Northern Shrike Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Hooked
  • Eye Color: Dark brown.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Plain, Masked, Striped
  • Crown Color: Gray
  • Forehead Color: Gray
  • Nape Color: Gray
  • Throat Color: Pale Gray
  • Cere color: No Data
Northern Shrike Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 23-25 cm (9-10 in)
  • Weight: 65 g (2.3 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Black, Gray
  • Underparts: Pale gray with faint barring.
  • Upperparts: Gray
  • Back Pattern: Solid
  • Belly Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Breast Pattern: Barred or banded

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Swift undulating flight on shallow rapid wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 34-42 cm (13.5-16.5 in)
  • Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Rounded Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Tipped
  • Upper Tail: Black
  • Under Tail: Pale Gray
  • Leg Color: Black
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Family Shrike (Laniidae)_blue
Species Lanius excubitor
Length9 - 10 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike: Medium shrike with gray upperparts,pale gray underparts. Mask is black with white border, bill is heavy and slightly hooked. Wings are black with white patches. Tail is long, black, and white-edged. Legs and feet are black. Flight is swift and undulating on shallow rapid wing beats.

● Song: "kdldi", "plid-plid", "fay, fay", "reed, reed, reed", "shraaaa"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Shrike: Eats mostly insects, but also takes small birds and mammals, sometimes larger than itself. Forages from a high perch, swooping down to stun or kill prey with blows from its heavy, hooked bill; caches prey by impaling it on a sharp object such as a thorn or wire barb.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Shrike: Four to nine gray or green eggs, marked with olive, brown, and purple, are laid in a nest made of sticks, lined with feathers, hair, and fine materials, and built in a tree or shrub 12 to 20 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 15 to 16 days and is carried out by the female. Young fly at about 20 days old.

● Similar species: Northern Shrike: Loggerhead Shrike is smaller, has a black mask that extends across top of bill, and shorter bill with less hooked tip.

Flight Pattern

Swift undulating flight on shallow rapid wing beats.
Northern Shrike Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Northern Shrike: Breeds from northern Alaska south to central Quebec, northern Manitoba and northern British Columbia. Migrates south in winter as far as central and southwestern U.S. Prefers forest edges, open willow brush, and brush-bordered swamps and bogs.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationYes but uncommon
MigrationMigratory
Weight2.3 Ounces