Loggerhead Shrike

 

As always, click the photo to enlarge

A Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) watches for victims from a wispy perch. These predatory songbirds are brutish hunters and are sometimes known as "butcher birds". I must admit, I watched this animal for some time hoping he might score a kill. It did chase a Song Sparrow into a palm, but the sparrow escaped. Shrikes often impale their victims on thorns, barbed wire, etc. As the shrike lacks large powerful talons, sharp objects serve to hold their meal in place while the bird rips it apart. Pine Glades Natural Area, Jupiter, Florida, January 15, 2022.