Loggerhead shrikes, sometimes called "butcher birds," are noted for impaling captured insects and small lizards on thorns, twigs, or barbed wire and leaving them there to dry. On the morning when I took these pictures, two loggerhead shrikes kept returning to this tree and several other trees nearby. I initially thought they might have a nest in the area. If they did, I didn't find it.

This shrike landed high in the tree with a grasshopper in its bill. It stuck the grasshopper on a twig and then ripped off and ate its head. The shrike then re-oriented the grasshopper on the twig, flew to a nearby tree, and called its partner, which then flew to the tree where the grasshopper was impaled. After that both birds flew off, I couldn't locate the grasshopper in the tree. Unfortunately, while both birds were present, I watched the original bird. I didn't see whether the partner took the rest of the grasshopper.

You can view larger versions of the images by clicking on them. Their quality is not what I'd like, but I thought they were interesting enough to include anyway. Use your browser's back button to return to this page.

-- Bob Stocker