The Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a passerine bird classified as a songbird, but this bird has a bird of prey's attitude. With its hawk-like bill and feisty nature this bird is a great candidate for any birder's life list. You can easily spot them when they perch on the tops of trees, fence posts, bushes and wires as they hunt. Their diet is made up of insects, lizards, small birds & small mammals. They can carry an object as large as their body size. The loggerhead shrike lacks the large talons of a raptor, so they will impale their kills on thorns, tree branches, barbed wire or wedge them into a small space for easy eating. Thus earning the moniker of "butcher bird". The word "loggerhead" means blockhead. It refers to the size of the head in relation to it's body. At this time the Loggerhead Shrikes are on the endangered list in Canada and in a number of states in the U.S.! I have been photographing nesting pairs of Loggerhead Shrikes for the past 10 years' and have tied to capture the complete life cycle of this predatory songbird!