noun
definition
Any of various passerine birds of the family Laniidae which are known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns.
Examples of shrike in a Sentence
Species lost to Herefordshire in the last 25 years have included breeding corncrake and red-backed shrike.
On the drive kestrel, spur winged plover, turtle dove and a distant great gray shrike were added.
The other was the second sighting of a red-backed shrike at Lower Barden reservoir on 15th June.
A third Great gray shrike asked for closer examination.
Retracing our steps to the entrance added Bull-headed Shrike and oriental greenfinches.
The large baobabs that line the road to Camalou were good for Palearctic migrants, including woodchat shrike, tree pipit and subalpine warbler.
Local kestrel, southern gray shrike and turtle dove all seen near the goat farm by the road.
A third great gray shrike asked for closer examination.
A single Long-tailed shrike perched in the top of a bush was also a welcome find being a scarce winter visitor to Sri Lanka.
Only real find in the hotel gardens along the front was a woodchat shrike.
As we were waiting an Ashy cuckoo shrike posed on a tree near to which a Bamboo lemur was spotted by our eagle-eyed guide.
A dry well grazed area produced three woodchat shrikes along with masked shrike, 3 species of wheatear and hundreds of flava wagtail species.
Blue-headed Wagtails were particularly obvious, as was a male Red-backed Shrike and several whinchats.
Among the smaller birds may be enumerated finches, the siskin, bullfinch, pipit, titmouse, wagtail, lark, fine-crested wren, hedge-sparrow, corn-wren, nut-hatch, starling, swallow, martin, swift, thrush, butcher bird, shrike, dipper, yellow-hammer, ortolan and a warbler (Accentor alpinus).
A single Long-tailed Shrike perched in the top of a bush was also a welcome find being a scarce winter visitor to Sri Lanka.
Blue-headed Wagtails were particularly obvious, as was a male Red-backed Shrike and several Whinchats.
Around the shore we found Tawny Pipit and Rufous-tailed Lark as well as a quite confiding Southern Gray Shrike.
Brown shrike (3 ), Singles at KS, TK & PI (very few shrikes seen overall) 208.
Brown Shrike (3), Singles at KS, TK & PI (very few shrikes seen overall) 208.
One of the most perfect cases of mimicry in birds is presented by a Madagascar thrush or babbler (Tylas eduardi), which resembles feather for feather a shrike (Xenopirostris polleni), from the same island.
The Tylas has departed from the normal coloration of its group to take on that of the shrike, a comparatively powerful and pugnacious bird.
Among gallinaceous birds besides the red-legged partridge, which is met with everywhere on the steppes, there are found also the Pterocles alchita and P. arenarius; and among the birds of other orders are the southern shrike (Lanius meridianalis), the Spanish sparrow (Passer cyaneus), and, the blue magpie (Cyano pica cooki).
From a few of these bundles may be extracted not only numbers of raptorial birds, large and small, including owls, but also the hawk-like cuckoo, the shrike, and even the swallow.