2/2/2021 3 Comments ButcherbirdFirst a little Greek and Latin. Today I was blessed to find a Northern Shrike, scientific name Lanius borealis. Lanius is Latin for "butcher," and borealis derives from the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas. The Northern Shrike is very much at home riding icy winds year round, coming down from the Arctic Circle to winter-- yes, winter! -- across Canada and the northern tier of U.S. states. Here in the Midwest, Nebraska is about as far south as it's regularly found. A truly boreal bird which I found on a truly boreal day. (I felt like I was birding on Hoth, for you Star Wars fans.) At first glance you might mistake the shrike for a fruit- or seed-eater, don't be fooled. This black-masked songbird, not even as large as a robin, is a fierce predator famed for its habit of catching small animals and impaling them on barbed wire fences and thorn bushes, hung up to be eaten later. As I scoped this bird just before sunset today, I watched it dive down into the snow and come up with a vole in its sharply hooked beak and then store it in a spiny bush. So if you're ever tromping around outside and happen to come across a strange sight like the one below, which I stumbled on several years ago in Clay County, now you'll know who's responsible. Oh, two other comments. First, back about eight years ago, birding on a hilltop prairie south of Lincoln in early April, I spotted a pair of Loggerhead Shrikes (southern kin to the N. Shrike.) I was standing quite still when they flew over, and apparently the male mistook me for a short tree or a tall post, because he came and landed directly on my head, calling loudly for his mate while I held my breath. I guess she didn't think my hair was a suitable place to build a nest because she didn't join him, and after about a minute of insistent "kaak-kaak-kaak"ing, he gave up and flew off after her. I'll never forget it. Secondly, did you notice the hoarfrost in the top picture? I can't remember when I've seen it so thick before. I'm a birder first and general nature enthusiast second, with photography coming in a distant third. None of these do it justice -- it was just magical -- so I'd love to know if any of you got some good hoarfrost pictures today.
3 Comments
Steven Lincoln
2/3/2021 05:44:04 pm
Again - I learn so much - this is gruesomely cool.
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paul
2/4/2021 10:51:58 am
Thanks, Steve! "Nature, red in tooth and claw" indeed. And I think I might have learned something, too. After posting yesterday, I thought, "Dunbar, are you sure that icy decoration on everything was, in fact, 'hoarfrost'?" So I did a little digging, and I believe those white, spiky crystals are what is technically referred to as "rime ice," which forms when supercooled fog droplets stick to surfaces and freeze, vs. hoarfrost which is created by ice crystals forming directly from the gaseous state. I'm sure you meteorology buffs out there can correct me or explain it more thoroughly, but I do like having the right name for things. So...rime ice.
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Terry
2/6/2021 02:27:47 pm
I knew the phrase “hoar frost” but never paid much attention until reading your post. Then when I looked it up, I discovered what you did about rime ice. That one I HAD never heard of. Interesting!
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