Great Grey Shrike

Great grey shrikes are robust songbirds with pale-gray upperparts, white underparts, black wings and a conspicuous black facial mask. They favor open landscapes containing scattered trees, shrubs, fence posts or other elevated hunting perches. Their broad northern distribution includes tundra margins, grasslands, open woodland and cultivated country across Eurasia and North America. Some populations migrate southward when winter conditions reduce access to prey. (Animal Diversity Web)

Despite being passerines, great grey shrikes behave as formidable predators. They watch from a perch before dropping onto insects, rodents, small birds, amphibians or reptiles. Captured prey may be wedged into a fork or impaled on a thorn, creating a food store and helping the bird tear apart larger items. Pairs defend breeding territories, construct cup-shaped nests and cooperate in raising their nestlings. (Animal Diversity Web)