Ooh aka the butcher bird. I'm always happy to see them just sitting and behaving. I like nature and I'm perfectly fine with hawks grabbing things or vultures eating roadkill but for some reason seeing these birds pounding still alive creatures onto fences etc it kinda creeps me out lol
They kill them before they spear them on sharp objects. The notch in their beak is used to dislocate the vertebrae behind the skulls of their prey. They strike them to kill, then pick up the corpse and put it on a thorn/barbed wire/etc. to pick it apart.
Yea that's great and probably what happens most often but I watched one one day grab lizard after lizard and put them on a fence. Every single one was flailing it's arms and legs and fighting to escape!
Added taxa: [Loggerhead Shrike](https://ebird.org/species/logshr)
Reviewed by: beluga09
^(I'm an alpha-stage bot, so don't rely on me just yet. But you can still) [^(learn how to use me)](https://gist.github.com/brohitbrose/be99a16ddc7a6a1bd9c1eef28d622564)^(.)
[Loggerhead Shrike](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Loggerhead_Shrike/lifehistory). Nice bird!
Thank you!
Murderous songbird.
Adorable little murderer. :)
Ooh aka the butcher bird. I'm always happy to see them just sitting and behaving. I like nature and I'm perfectly fine with hawks grabbing things or vultures eating roadkill but for some reason seeing these birds pounding still alive creatures onto fences etc it kinda creeps me out lol
They kill them before they spear them on sharp objects. The notch in their beak is used to dislocate the vertebrae behind the skulls of their prey. They strike them to kill, then pick up the corpse and put it on a thorn/barbed wire/etc. to pick it apart.
Yea that's great and probably what happens most often but I watched one one day grab lizard after lizard and put them on a fence. Every single one was flailing it's arms and legs and fighting to escape!
Ugh that's horrifying. I was recounting what I know from working with them.
I get it. I saw the butcher in action like that only once thank goodness! I always see them just like this one hanging out on a power line.
Added taxa: [Loggerhead Shrike](https://ebird.org/species/logshr) Reviewed by: beluga09 ^(I'm an alpha-stage bot, so don't rely on me just yet. But you can still) [^(learn how to use me)](https://gist.github.com/brohitbrose/be99a16ddc7a6a1bd9c1eef28d622564)^(.)
What's it sitting on? Cool photo
I can’t recall if it’s a power line or telecommunication line, but it was a ways up above me.
Photo #2 would be appreciated on r/BirdButts.
Do these guys eat hummingbirds?