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Northern Shrike

Status Irregular and uncommon in winter. This visitor from the north generally first appears here in October or early November (average 21 October, earliest normal date 22 September). There is uncertainty about some sight identifications in early fall because of possible confusion with the Loggerhead Shrike (see Remarks); one very early Northern Shrike was identified by Charles R.K. Allen on 2 September 1966 at Chebogue Point, Yarmouth County. Numbers reported during most winters from 1974-84 have varied from 13 to 28, but in 1977-78 about 50, and in 1978-79 about 100, were recorded. Latest sightings in spring are generally in April, with stragglers through May (average 11 April, latest 31 May).

Description Length: 23-26.5 cm. Adults: Back bluish gray, slightly lighter on rump; wings and tail black, the tail feathers tipped with white, the outer ones all white; a broad line from base of bill to ear, running through eye, black; underparts grayish white, delicately barred with fine brown or black lines; bill hooked, lower mandible usually pale at base. Immatures: Similar but their general appearance is that of a brownish gray bird, the colours subdued and less contrasting.

Range Breeds in the Northern Hemisphere, in North America from northern Alaska, Mackenzie Delta, northern Ungava, and Labrador, south to central Quebec, northern Manitoba and northern British Columbia. Wanders south in winter as far as the central and southwestern United States.

Remarks Perhaps the most outstanding characteristic of this bird is its ferocity. Hawks and owls are fierce but kill mainly, if not wholly, to satisfy their immediate food requirements. However, the Northern Shrike will kill more prey than it can immediately eat, and the surplus victims are impaled on barbed wire fences or on the thorns of trees. Not infrequently we find the mummified remains of mice and small birds hanging in this manner, a macabre sight long ago recognized as the work of shrikes. Such remains probably have been forgotten by the bird. The birds it kills are usually sparrow-size or smaller, but on 26 October 1916 I saw one closely pursuing a fleeing robin, a bird about its own size. When last seen, the chase was still in progress.

It hunts in a manner similar to that of the American Kestrel. It finds a suitable perch, the highest part of the tallest tree for instance, looking over wide, open terrain and sits for long periods as if sleeping. Instead, it is scanning the countryside for prey within striking range.

Its flight is undulating; when about to alight it has a characteristic trait of coming in below the perch and then suddenly swerving up to it. It so closely resembles its cousin, the Loggerhead Shrike, that definite identification in the field may be difficult. However, a shrike seen in winter is likely to be of this species, but one seen in summer will be a Loggerhead Shrike. Caution should be used in identifying shrikes in spring and fall. Sometimes the black feathers over the bill of the Loggerhead Shrike are difficult to see, and the pale lower mandible of the Northern Shrike may be black by spring. Perhaps the best distinction is the larger, heavier and more strongly hooked bill of the Northern Shrike compared with the snub-nosed appearance of the Loggerhead Shrike.