** content warning ** This episode features some graphic depictions of bird vs. prey interactions, so if you listen with little ones you may wish to check out the episode on your own first to feel it out.
Maeve tells Kristen all about the Northern Shrike, whose common name of 'butcher bird' is well deserved. This large songbird is entirely carnivorous, and has some fascinating adaptions that allow it to catch prey close to its own size. Our hosts also discuss other interesting facts, like what this bird has in common with baseball or football players and how this episode was inspired by a Hoozier song. Tune in next week for our first ever Birds in the News segment. We can't wait to share that with you!
Also, take a minute to check out Maeve's other podcast, Mystics and Mulder, a podcast "at the intersection of pop culture and faith." Their latest episode is about Hoozier, and Maeve mentions in today's other episode.
Research for today’s episode came from the following sources:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Shrike/overview
Additional Resources:
Shrike - by Hoozier https://youtu.be/DOBHyBPPSow
Northern Shrike calling from a tree https://youtu.be/8RmRivUbvAE
Differentiating between the Northern and Loggerhead Shrikes https://youtu.be/t5l7GPs4ePE
Blog about the tomial tooth - https://kaylafisk.com/2022/02/25/bird-anatomy-tomial-tooth/
https://www.audubon.org/news/what-do-baseball-players-and-shrikes-have-common
*Trigger warning - animal corpses*
https://www.audubon.org/news/shrikes-have-absolutely-brutal-way-killing-large-prey
Shrike impaling prey behavior - so metal! https://youtu.be/kE6y-v7m-JY
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Thanks for listening, and happy birding!