Loggerhead Shrike

Status Rare transient, very rare in summer and winter. Formerly bred. Among nineteenth-century authors, Jones (1879) included the Loggerhead Shrike as "very rare" and Hickman (1896) reported one seen on 27 June 1895. The first conclusive evidence of occurrence was a specimen shot at Truro on 28 December 1909 (Piers' notes). Since 1960 only 15 spring migrants have been reported, between 1 April and 24 June. Although there was a probable nesting in Kings County in 1942 and a confirmed nesting there in 1969, the bird has not recently been recorded in summer except in the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary on 7 July 1974 and at Round Hill, Annapolis County, where Walter E. Whitehead recorded one or two July birds in 1974 and also during five consecutive years, 1977-81. Since 1960, 21 fall migrants have been recorded, between 12 August (in 1969 on Brier Island) and 29 November. An unusual winter record is supplied by Benjamin K. Doane, who studied one at very close range for 20 minutes near Port La Tour, Shelburne County, on 28 February 1969 as it repeatedly swooped down from its perch for insects in marsh grass.

Description Length: 22-23 cm. Adults: Slightly smaller than the Northern Shrike but very similar in colouration; breast, however, is grayish white, without the obvious fine transverse lines; more extensive black mask extends over the base of the bill to varying degrees.

Breeding In trees or thick bushes; rather bulky, composed of twigs and coarse grass stems, with a lining of plant down or other soft materials. Eggs: 3-5; dull white, thickly blotched with light brown and lavender. The fact that it has bred in the province is substantiated by a record provided by Austin W. Cameron, who described a nest he found at Petit Etang, about 1.5 km north of Cheticamp, Inverness County, on 29 June 1969, the day its three young left. The family group stayed about the immediate vicinity until 28 July. The nest was placed 1.7 m from the ground in a hawthorn bush (Crataegus), one of several dozen forming a copse in open countryside, and composed of weed stems, coarse grasses, rags and bits of string. The pair had been seen in the area since 29 April.

Range Breeds from central Alberta, southern Quebec, and southward in the United States to Mexico; formerly bred in the Maritimes and New England, now rarely if at all. Winters in the United States and Mexico.

Remarks It is less bloodthirsty than its larger cousin, the Northern Shrike, and preys largely on insects such as grasshoppers and crickets. Although there are many species of shrikes throughout the world, the Loggerhead Shrike is the only one restricted to North America. It has become increasingly scarce in eastern North America for unknown reasons.