Illustration of shrike
: any of numerous usually largely gray or brownish oscine birds (family Laniidae) that have a hooked bill, feed chiefly on insects, and often impale their prey on thorns
Examples of shrike in a Sentence
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The loggerhead shrike is a rare breeder in Minnesota that gets replaced in winter by the northern shrike, which begins arriving in late October.
—
Bob Timmons, Star Tribune, 21 Jan. 2021
Among male green tree frogs, smaller specimens lower their voices to sound bigger, and shrikes, a type of songbird that uses false alarms to divert rivals from food or potential mates, lie as a matter of habit.
—Paul Tullis, Town & Country, 30 Apr. 2023
Continued to host two Cackling Geese at Tri-Town Beach in Whately, three Black Vultures at Turners Falls, and a Northern shrike at the Orange Municipal Airport.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Nov. 2022
The Truro Christmas Bird Count had highlights including 53 red crossbills, 28 pine siskins, 15 Northern saw-whet owls, a Northern shrike in Wellfleet, 4 clapper rails on the Herring River, and a glaucous gull in Provincetown.
—BostonGlobe.com, 11 Jan. 2023
Several animals—including worms, lizards, small rodents, other birds, and even snakes—have fallen prey to the appetite of a shrike.
—Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2022
My winter bird thrill was a northern shrike landing in a treetop just outside our back door.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Feb. 2022
Franklin County: The area was graced by the presence of a Northern shrike at the Orange Airport and Northern goshawks in Colrain and at Gate 33 at the Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem.
—BostonGlobe.com, 20 Nov. 2021
In Newburyport Harbor, a black-headed gull and a little gull were spotted, and at Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Rowley, a Northern shrike was observed.
—BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021
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Bob Timmons, Star Tribune, 21 Jan. 2021
Among male green tree frogs, smaller specimens lower their voices to sound bigger, and shrikes, a type of songbird that uses false alarms to divert rivals from food or potential mates, lie as a matter of habit.
—Paul Tullis, Town & Country, 30 Apr. 2023
Continued to host two Cackling Geese at Tri-Town Beach in Whately, three Black Vultures at Turners Falls, and a Northern shrike at the Orange Municipal Airport.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Nov. 2022
The Truro Christmas Bird Count had highlights including 53 red crossbills, 28 pine siskins, 15 Northern saw-whet owls, a Northern shrike in Wellfleet, 4 clapper rails on the Herring River, and a glaucous gull in Provincetown.
—BostonGlobe.com, 11 Jan. 2023
Several animals—including worms, lizards, small rodents, other birds, and even snakes—have fallen prey to the appetite of a shrike.
—Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 14 Apr. 2022
My winter bird thrill was a northern shrike landing in a treetop just outside our back door.
—John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Feb. 2022
Franklin County: The area was graced by the presence of a Northern shrike at the Orange Airport and Northern goshawks in Colrain and at Gate 33 at the Quabbin Reservoir in New Salem.
—BostonGlobe.com, 20 Nov. 2021
In Newburyport Harbor, a black-headed gull and a little gull were spotted, and at Rough Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Rowley, a Northern shrike was observed.
—BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Shrike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrike. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025.
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