Loggerhead Shrike in Tamarisk Tree

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Photo by W. Hoese Photo by W. Hoese Adult loggerhead shrike in tamarisk tree. Juvenile loggerhead shrike in creosote bush Characteristics Habitat ➔ Predatory songbirds that have a hooked ➔ Year-round residents that are bill and a black-masked eye. widespread, but uncommon throughout ➔ Grey bodies with white throat, black tails, the Mojave Desert. black wings, white wing patches. ➔ Often seen perching high in trees, ➔ Length: 22.9 cm. searching for prey. ➔ Weight: 48 g. ➔ Wingspan: 30.5 cm. ➔ Resemble northern mockingbirds, but heads are larger and the white wing patches are smaller than in the mockingbird. Behavior ➔ Generally monogamous. ➔ Loggerhead shrikes are reproductively active from early February through June. ➔ Nest in low-lying shrubs 1-2 meters above the ground. Impaled lizard in creosote bush. Photo by W. Hoese ➔ Uses bursts of very rapid wingbeats. Diet Range ➔ Opportunistic predators that feed primarily on arthropods, lizards and other small vertebrates. ➔ Impale their prey on thorns. ➔ They can kill prey as big as themselves. Zzyzx-specific Information ➔ They can often be seen at the top of tamarisks and poles along Zzyzx Road and near the Desert Studies Center. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Loggerhead_Shrike/maps-range Conservation Status ➔ IUCN status: near threatened. ➔ Populations of loggerhead shrikes are declining nationwide. ➔ The loggerhead shrike in the Mojave may be negatively impacted by competition with the American kestrel, European starling, and common raven. Image source: http://ca.audubon.org/birds-0/loggerhead-shrike Did you know?! ➔ Its gruesome habit of impaling its prey earned the loggerhead shrike the Scorpion impaled on creosote bush branch. Picture by W. Hoese nickname of Butcher Bird. Loggerhead Shrike ● Craig, R; DeAngelis, D; Dixon, K (1979). "Long- and short-term dynamic optimization models with application to the feeding strategy of the loggerhead shrike". The American Naturalist. 113(1): 31–51. ● Chabot A. 1994. Habitat selection and reproductive biology of the loggerhead shrike in eastern Ontario and Quebec. ● Loggerhead Shrike Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. URL https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Loggerhead_Shrike/id ● Montreal (QC): McGill University Libraries. ● Mikula, P.; Morelli, F.; Lučan, R. K.; Jones, D. N.; Tryjanowski, P. (2016). "Bats as prey of diurnal birds: a global perspective". Mammal Review. 46 (3): 160–174 ● Miller, A (1931). "Systematic revision and natural history of the American shrikes (Lanius)". University of California Publications in Zoology. 38 (2): 11–242.

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