The butcher bird: Loggerhead Shrike

Here are some key facts about the loggerhead shrike:

- Also known as the butcher bird for its behavior of impaling prey on thorns or barbed wire.

- Small songbird in the laniidae family, found in open habitats across North America.

- Adults are gray and white with a black mask, wingspan of 12-15 inches.

- Hunts from exposed perches for small animals like insects, frogs, snakes, mice which it immobilizes before caching on sticks.

- Declining populations due to habitat loss from agricultural expansion/development.

- Nests in densely foliaged shrubs or trees, usually less than 6 feet from the ground.

- Claws are specialized for capturing and holding prey, though it also impales to save for later consumption.

- Threatened by pesticide use, collisions with vehicles, transmission lines and abandoned buildings.
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