BUTCHER BIRD

Shrikes belong to a large Order of birds, the Passeriformes, often referred to as perching birds, or songbirds. The predatory shrike family, Laniidae, consists of 33 species and four genera most of which are found in Eurasia and Africa. Two are native to North America, the only ones to be found in the western hemisphere, and both are found in Minnesota. The loggerhead and the northern shrikes have ranges that somewhat overlap spatially, but not seasonally. The loggerhead shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, is a southern species, and a few migrate this far north to breed, although in recent years it has become a rare visitor. Its Genus name, Lanius, is the Latin word for “butcher.”