{"id":7458,"date":"2019-08-16T09:30:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T09:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/?p=7458"},"modified":"2021-06-08T21:32:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T21:32:09","slug":"cnhps-logo-part-2-natures-little-serial-killer-the-loggerhead-shrike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/08\/16\/cnhps-logo-part-2-natures-little-serial-killer-the-loggerhead-shrike\/","title":{"rendered":"CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 2: Nature\u2019s Little Serial Killer, the Loggerhead Shrike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>By: Sierra Crumbaker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Colorado Natural Heritage Program)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ever come across a barbed wire\nfence decorated with the impaled bodies of insects, reptiles, rodents, and the\noccasional small bird? It looks like the work of a sadistic little kid having a\nboring day, but in fact it\u2019s the proud display of what you might call nature\u2019s\nlittle serial killer, the loggerhead shrike (<em>Lanius ludocivians<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"397\" src=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/loggerhead-1-David-Leatherman-1024x397.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7460\" data-link=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/?attachment_id=7460\" class=\"wp-image-7460\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/loggerhead-1-David-Leatherman-1024x397.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/loggerhead-1-David-Leatherman-300x116.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/loggerhead-1-David-Leatherman-768x298.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/loggerhead-1-David-Leatherman.jpg 1328w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>A loggerhead shrike and its unlucky prey. (Photo credit: David Leatherman)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Believe it or not, this songbird\nis infamous for its habit of catching and impaling other small creatures to\nwhatever pointy object it has handy. If you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=loggerhead+shrike+prey&amp;rlz=1C1DKCZ_enUS795US795&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj_rfGO7KLhAhVGpZ4KHf34D8wQ_AUIDigB&amp;biw=1536&amp;bih=754\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">google\nloggerhead shrike prey<\/a>, you\u2019ll be bombarded with images of beetles,\ngrasshoppers, mice, lizards, and birds (sometimes decapitated) stuck to barbed\nwire, thorns, yucca, and sharp sticks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pam Smith, a resident botanist at\nCNHP, attended an indoor and outdoor Audubon field class about the loggerhead\nshrike led by David Leatherman, a retired Colorado State Forest Service\nentomologist and shrike enthusiast. They traveled to the plains of Weld County\nto respectfully examine the work of a local shrike, dubbed \u201cCharles Manson\u201d by\nLeatherman. He proceeded to explain that the work of Charlie has a lot less to\ndo with psychopathic nature and a lot more to do with attracting females, who\nwould pass through the area a little later. The impaling hobbies of a male\nshrike are intended to showcase his impressive talents to potential mates, and\nhis stashes of speared buffets provide food for the couple and their young down\nthe road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To rub salt in the wound, shrikes\nfrequently impale bugs head-first so that they remain alive and fresh for\nforthcoming meals, a strategy that has led Leatherman to discover pinned bugs\nwith their legs still squirming. Leatherman also pointed out that shrikes not\nonly behead some birds but place the head at one end of their nesting ground\nand the body at the other\u2014what he believes may be an intimidation tactic in\nstaking out territory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/3loggerhead-2-Alyssa-Meier-1024x356.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"7471\" data-link=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/3loggerhead-2-alyssa-meier\/\" class=\"wp-image-7471\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/3loggerhead-2-Alyssa-Meier-1024x356.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/3loggerhead-2-Alyssa-Meier-300x104.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/3loggerhead-2-Alyssa-Meier-768x267.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/08\/3loggerhead-2-Alyssa-Meier.jpg 1585w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>According to Leatherman, this is a \u201crainbow scarab (<i>Phaeneus vindex<\/i>), a \u2018bauble\u2019 that males use to attract females when they newly migrate back north and are setting up breeding territories.&#8221; This one was found in southwestern Nebraska around September. (Photo Credit: Alyssa Meier)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next time you\u2019re out in the\ngrasslands east of Fort Collins and you happen across a grasshopper impaled on\na yucca, stop and listen, because you might hear the rough, squeaky melody of\nthe little songbird responsible for it. And the next time you glance at CNHP\u2019s\ncolorful logo, just remember that somewhere out of sight in the background,\nthere\u2019s a barbed wire fence with a smorgasbord of small, impaled animals\nwaiting to be noticed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you\u2019re interested in learning more, click <\/em><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cobirds.org\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em><strong>here<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em> for a humorous (and somewhat macabre) article about the \u201cbutcher bird\u201d by David Leatherman.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"cnhp-display-div margin-top-15 wp-block-heading\"><strong>This article is part of mini series about five species\/things in our logo that embodies the ecology, botany and zoology work CNHP is committed to. <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right cnhp-display-div\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 29%\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"944\" src=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/11\/cnhp_c_only_transparent_small.fw_-1024x944.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7224\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<ul class=\"project-page-list wp-block-list\"><li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/08\/09\/cnhps-logo-part-1-bat-an-eyelash-blue-grama\/\"><strong>CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 1: Bat an Eyelash, Blue Grama <\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li><li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/08\/16\/cnhps-logo-part-2-natures-little-serial-killer-the-loggerhead-shrike\/\"><strong>CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 2: Nature\u2019s Little Serial Killer, the Loggerhead Shrike<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li><li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/08\/23\/cnhps-logo-part-3-payson-lupine-and-silvery-lupine\/\"><strong>CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 3: Payson Lupine and Silvery Lupine <\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li><li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/08\/30\/cnhps-logo-part-4-royalty-in-decline-the-regal-fritillary\/\">CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 4: Royalty in Decline, the Regal Fritillary<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li><li><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/2019\/09\/06\/cnhps-logo-part-5-pinnacle-of-rocky-mountain-national-park-longs-peak\/\">CNHP\u2019s Logo Part 5: Pinnacle of Rocky Mountain National Park, Longs Peak <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By: Sierra Crumbaker (Colorado Natural Heritage Program) Ever come across a barbed wire fence decorated with the impaled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,72,9,123,73,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-about-cnhp","category-cnhp","category-cnhp-in-the-news","category-cnhp-logo","category-colorado-natural-heritage-program","category-education","entry","override"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnhp.colostate.edu\/cnhpblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}