English: At first glance, the Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) is an inconspicuous bird. The representative of the Red Book is the size of a Blackbird. But every bird has its skeletons in the cupboard. For the shrike, these are corpses on the spikes of bushes and trees or broken branches, stems or barbed wire. The fact is that the grey shrike likes to make a barbecue out of its prey. Like this mouse in the photo - the bird first catches it and then sets it on a trunk. So it is easier to tear the victim. The predator enjoys rodents, lizards, frogs, small birds and even larger animals - stoats, for example. The Great Grey Shrike is an opportunist, i.e. it is indiscriminate and unprincipled in the choice of food. Shrikes resort to camouflage tactics - they lure singing birds, imitating their voice or waiting in ambush for a mouse near burrows or hiding places. In summer, the diet of the Great Grey Shrike includes Orthoptera. If a shrike suspects that a grasshopper or locust has chemicals in its body, it leaves them in the form of a barbecue for several days until the poisonous substances decay. An adult shrike consumes 50 g of prey daily, the excess food is stored. Therefore, do not be surprised when you find a shrike pantry during a walk - with a few mice or birds poked low above the ground.

English: Birds, Great Grey Shrike, animals