noun
shrike
SHRIKE/ʃraɪk/
A predatory songbird that impales prey on thorns.
The shrike holds a captured grasshopper in its hooked bill.
Etymology
Old English scric described a “bird with a shrill call” and apparently survives in shrike. The name probably echoes the bird’s cry, linking it with shriek.
In context
the shrike swoops down with lightning speed grabbing its victim with its sharp hooked beak it's preferred menu includes a variety of animals insects like grasshoppers small reptiles rodents and even other birds
More examples
- A shrike had impaled an insect on a thorn.
- The bird guide described the shrike’s hooked bill.
- We watched a shrike hunt from the fence.
Forms
shrike · shrikes