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

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 video clip and watch what the shrike does.

Watch the Incredible Video Below!

Loggerhead Shrike Sighting

At the start of this next YouTube short video clip, shown at the top of this blog post, takes us to the explanations of why shrikes impale their victims. This video was shared by the Stori YouTube page. This channel is dedicated to providing a variety of educational videos on animals such as snakes, whales, giraffes, buffalo, birds, spiders, and otters, to name a few. Their page offers a short description of what they do below.

“ Explore the fascinating realm of the animal kingdom with us! Our YouTube channel is your passport to the extraordinary lives of animals and the incredible world of insects.”

Loggerhead Shrike Vs. Small Prey

At the start of this video, we see a small beetle impaled on some barbed wire. He is unable to go anywhere; however, it is very much still alive. And then, we quickly see a lizard that is impaled on some thorns in a nearby tree. At this point, we’re wondering, “What in the world is going on here?” This is when the narrator starts to talk.

“If you’ve ever come across a small animal impaled on a spike, odds are it was killed by a shrike….it is commonly known as ‘The Butcher bird’ or ‘The Thorn bird’ for its habit of impaling prey on sharp objects such as thorns and barbed wire fences.”

The narrator goes on to share that this shrike bird will leave its prey hanging on these sharp objects for days. And after a few days, it will return and will feast on these small 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.