Alabama, ipi8. gg 



LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE 



LENGTH, about 9 inches. A gray, black, and white bird, distin- 

 guished from the somewhat similarly colored mocking bird by 

 the black stripe on side of head: Range: Breeds throughout the 

 United States, Mexico, and southern Canada; winters in the south- 

 ern half of the United States and in Mexico. 



Habits and economic status : The loggerhead shrike, or south- 

 ern butcher bird, is common throughout its range and is sometimes 

 called "French mocking bird" from a superficial resemblance and not 

 from its notes, which are harsh and unmusical. The shrike is natur- 

 ally an insectivorous bird which has extended its bill of fare to 

 include small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Its hooked beak is well 

 adapted to tearing its prey, while to make amends for the lack of 

 talons it has hit upon the plan of forcing its victim, if too large to 

 swallow, into the fork of a bush or tree, where it can tear it asunder. 

 Insects, especially grasshoppers, constitute the larger part of its 

 food, though beetles, moths, caterpillars, ants, wasps, and a few 

 spiders are also taken. While the butcher bird occasionally catches 

 small birds, its principal vertebrate food is small mammals, as field 

 mice, shrews, and moles, and when possible it obtains lizards. It 

 habitually impales its surplus prey on a thorn, sharp twig, or barb 

 of a wire fence. — Biological Survey Bulletin. 



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