This afternoon I was just finishing up birding the Ajo golf course. I came around the rear of the truck and there on the ground, right by the front door, was a Loggerhead Shrike and a Cactus Wren in a deadly struggle. I was quite amazed as I have never seen a Loggerhead Shrike kill anything much bigger than a lizard. The Cactus Wren was nearly as big as the shrike and it was putting up quite a fight. Several times it tried to get its claws into the shrike’s eyes. The shrike never gave up and eventually it killed the wren. I timed it at 16 minutes, but I have no idea how long they had been battling before I found them.
My first few shots were like this, the wren actually seemed to be getting the better of the shrike. Notice how it has it claw in the eye of the shrike.The shrike is maneuvering for a better hold. Now it is going for the neck, a typical attack point for a shrike. They are known to snap the vertebrae, but it was having a hard time of it. The struggle moved out into the late afternoon sunlight. The shrike gave up on its hold and tried another. It took a few more minutes before it finally killed the wren. I’ve read that shrikes can fly short distances carrying birds as large as themselves. This shrike couldn’t even get the wren up the first step. I suppose it was exhausted. I took the wren and impaled it on a thorn in a mesquite tree. By then it was getting too dark for sharp photos, and I left the shrike to feed on its prey. Why this shrike would take on such a large bird and continue the attack for at least 16 minutes, even at the risk of losing an eye, is a puzzle. I have read about and seen a few other encounters between shrikes and birds of equal size, the shrike normally backs off. Not this one though.
2 replies on “Yikes! Shrikes!”
That’s crazy! I didn’t know a shrike would- or could- do that. Ferocious!
2 replies on “Yikes! Shrikes!”
That’s crazy! I didn’t know a shrike would- or could- do that. Ferocious!
An amazing observation.