Shrikes - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about Shrikes Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
1,027,478,005 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

shrike
(redirected from Shrikes)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.

shrike

Enlarge picture
The great grey shrike. Shrikes are often referred to as ‘butcher birds’ because of their habit of impaling their prey on thorns in a gruesome larder. Shrikes are found in a variety of habitats in many parts of the world. As well as insects, shrikes will attack and kill small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and even other birds.

Bird of the family Laniidae, of which there are over 70 species, living mostly in Africa, but also in Eurasia and North America. They often impale insects and small vertebrates on thorns. They can grow to 35 cm/14 in long, have grey, black, or brown plumage, sharply clawed feet, and hooked beaks.


?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.. Terms of Use.