Loggerhead Shrike: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Small Hunters · day 4 of 7

Five facts

1. Loggerhead shrikes eat insects as light as a thousandth of a gram, and can also dispatch 25-gram mice.
2. With weak talons, a shrike pushes bigger prey onto a thorn or barbed wire to hold it while it eats.
3. The female lays 4 to 8 eggs in a bulky cup of twigs and grass. The eggs take about 16 days to hatch.
4. Chicks leave the nest at about 19 days old, then depend on their parents for another 3 to 4 weeks.
5. The longest-lived wild shrike on record lived 12 years and 6 months.

The quiz

1. What heavy prey can a loggerhead shrike dispatch?

• Adult rabbits
• Large snakes
• 25-gram mice (correct)
• Small deer

It can dispatch 25-gram mice.

2. Where does a shrike push bigger prey?

• Onto a thorn or barbed wire (correct)
• Into a hole in the ground
• Under a stone
• Into a river

With weak talons, it pushes bigger prey onto a thorn or barbed wire to hold it while eating.

3. How many eggs does the female lay?

• 1 to 2
• 4 to 8 (correct)
• 10 to 12
• 20 to 25

The female lays 4 to 8 eggs.

4. How long do fledglings stay dependent after leaving the nest?

• One more day
• Three to four more months
• A full year
• Three to four more weeks (correct)

They stay dependent for another three to four weeks.

5. How long did the longest-lived wild shrike on record live?

• 12 years and 6 months (correct)
• 2 years and 6 months
• 5 years
• 25 years

The longest-lived wild individual recorded lived 12 years and 6 months.

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