The alleged Loggerhead Shrike was probably not that! It was quite a ways
away from us, and although we saw it well through a 60X scope, we are not
willing to claim it at this point. I was unaware of certain marks to look
for when we saw this bird, namely a whitish rump, darker overall (kind of a
subjective feel to that one), and a manner of flight (one more undulating
and the other not, i.e. more direct from perch to perch). Thanks to Dave
Irons, Barbara Combs, Bill Tice, and Shawneen Finnegan for their private
input, but I have questions still.
Why do the field guides only show Northern adults with chest barring? (I
don't trust on-line photos because the same photos show up in image pages
for both species) This bird was facing us close enough to see well and its
breast was clear with no barring visible. The bill looked small to me and to
Anne, and we watched it for maybe 10 minutes as it moved away from the road.
Barb indicated to me privately that it took awhile to see the bill well, but
when she did it was a large bill. This bird came off its perches and flew
low to the ground with very shallow flight undulations.
It was a shrike. That we know.
Good birding,
Dan Heyerly and Anne Heyerly
Eugene, Oregon
