Meet the Shrike: The Butcher Bird That Impales Its Prey on Sharp Objects

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You know those scary movies where the terrifying bad guy does something horrifying like sticking their victims up on a spike to watch them suffer for days? Well, imagine how much more terrifying it would be to find that an animal does that to its prey. But don’t take our word for it; dive into this clip and watch what the shrike does. 

Loggerhead Shrike vs. Small Prey

At the start of this video, we see a small lizard impaled on a particularly long, sharp thorn. It appears to have been dead a while, its dry, shriveled carcass appearing to have been ripped open and eaten on. And then, we see a mouse impaled on sharp bracken, still and lifeless. At this point, we’re wondering, “What in the world is going on here?”

The narrator does talk during these scenes, setting us up for the answer to the mystery: “It feels right at home among deadly 3-inch thorns. It displays its kills like bloody trophies. Its Latin name, Lanius, means ‘butcher.’ And it’s a title that couldn’t be more fitting. It is the shrike.” 

The narrator goes on to share that this shrike bird doesn’t have sharp talons like other birds of prey. It instead spears its victims on pikes that are either natural or manmade (like barbed wire). It can ‘shrike’ lizards, snakes, other birds, and more. Once they are impaled, the shrike will tear away at them for a satisfying meal. In the case of the lubber grasshopper, whose body contains toxic poison, the shrike will leave it hanging on the sharp object for days until it has dried out and is no longer toxic. It will return and will feast on the animal. 

This video was shared by the Nat Geo Wild YouTube page, a famous channel dedicated to providing a variety of educational videos on animals such as snakes, whales, giraffes, buffalo, birds, spiders, and otters. Their page offers a short description of what they do: “National Geographic Wild is a place for all things animals and for animal-lovers alike. Take a journey through the animal kingdom with us and discover things you never knew before, or rediscover your favorite animals!” 

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) Facts

The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) of the family Laniidae can be found residing in North America. This bird weighs approximately 1.2-1.8 ounces and reaches up to 7.9-9.1 inches in length. They are grey, black, and white in appearance. 

Loggerhead shrikes are carnivorous eaters. They will eat insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, and lizards. We might assume this is where their diet stops because of how small they are; however, they are known also to eat squirrels, mice, rats, and shrews.