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Bird Gray Shrike is considered a real hermit, as you can rarely see it in nature. If you still really want to see representatives of this species, you will have to have a lot of patience and attentiveness. These birds try to keep as far as possible from the person. They usually live on the edge of the forest or near swamps. Birds sit high on a tree or on shrubs. The singing of this bird resembles the sounds made by a fortieth.
Today the number of gray shrikes is small. Therefore, they are protected by law. The decrease in numbers is due to the fact that the swamps and forests that were home to them are being destroyed. To save shrikes, as well as many other species of birds, it is necessary to carefully treat nature.
Appearance
This bird is quite large in comparison with its relatives.The body length is approximately 27 cm. The bird weighs up to 70 g. Their plumage is light. On the back, it has an ashy tint. Their belly is white. There is a pattern on the breast. The wings are black. Their tail is long, also painted black. There are light stripes on the tail and wings. On the head there are also stripes in the form of a black mask that starts near the beak and passes through the eyes of the bird. Shrike is a bird of prey. Therefore, its beak has a characteristic hookiness. It is difficult to distinguish a female shrike from a male. Their coloration is the same, but males have a slightly larger size. Fly these birds wavy.
Habitat in nature
The bird lives in the mountains and in the taiga. Those individuals who live in northern latitudes fly to warmer areas for the winter.
Vote
The sounds of the gray shrike are very similar to the sound of magpies.They have a rather rough voice, so their melodic song cannot be named. It represents something like whistling, buzzing and creaking. Sometimes a shrike repeats a sound that he heard from another bird. Therefore, the older the male, the better he sings.
Sounds made by representatives of this species are a way to communicate with each other. When he feels the danger approaches, they often begin to repeat the “check-check”. During the marriage period, they also perform a special song.
Nutrition
If you compare shrikes with other birds of prey, then its size is not very large. But this is offset by the courage they show during the hunt. They feed on any prey they can overpower. Often various large insects serve as food for them. They eat locusts, beetles, dragonflies. Since it is difficult to find insects in the northern latitudes, birds catch small vertebrates. They love to catch lizards and small amphibians. Sometimes their victims are small birds, such as titmouse or sparrow, and even rodents. The shrike can feed on mice, voles and even moles.
As soon as they catch the victim, they immediately eat it. They make stocks extremely rarely. If the bird feels that at the moment food can be caught very much, sometimes it can dry its prey. But not all individuals do this.
Nesting
Since the gray shrikes are rather large birds, their nest is also appropriately sized. As a rule, only the female is engaged in arrangement. Males can only rarely help them. First, the bird selects the most appropriate branch on which it could place its nest. Most often it is a thick branch of a tree or a scion of a bush. In addition, the nest can be located directly at the trunk. Shrike usually chooses a branch at a low height. Nests rise above the ground just 1 m or a little more. It consists of two layers. From the outside, it is woven from twigs and blades of grass. A distinctive feature of the nests of these birds is that they use branches in their construction, on which there are green leaves.
Inside the nest is lined with soft material. The bird finds animal fur, fine grass and a lot of feathers.
Young individuals
The nesting period may occur at different times. It depends on where the birds live. In the southern parts of the range, they can begin a breeding season in the middle or late spring. Those shrikes who live to the north begin to build nests only in June. Their eggs are greenish, covered with small brown spots. In total, the clutch is about 5-6 pieces. The shrike is engaged in incubation most of the time. The male can replace it only occasionally.
Interesting Facts
This bird is a special trick. They like to tease larger predators. When they see a hawk or a falcon nearby, they climb onto a high branch and begin to sing as if they do not notice anyone around. When a large predator notices a potential prey, he quickly rushes to her side.But the cunning bird immediately disappears into the thickets.
They can chase any, even the largest birds. This is also achieved by cunning. Shrike specifically spoils the hunt not only for birds of prey, but also for mammals, warning a possible victim of the approach of the enemy with the help of sounds. In this way the shrike achieves complete peace of mind. Nobody lives on its territory.
Video: Gray Shrike (Lanius excubitor)
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