One Planet News: The brain-eating bird you might see in the UK

Brains for breakfast?

By Annette J Beveridge

The battle for life and death is played out daily in the natural world but one small bird takes butchery to a whole new level.

Fewer than 100 of these birds spend the winter here in the UK so if you see one, it will be a real find but aside from its rarity, what makes this bird stand out?

Predatory birds are often considered powerful with a strong beak and talons for tearing prey, but some birds are small, beautifully defined and deadly.

The Butcher Bird

The Great Grey Shrike preys upon small mammals, insects and beetles and stores its prey on thorns. Barbaric? It may seem that way but by doing so, the bird has created a useful larder for its deadly meat fest.

If you see a thorny shrub with impaled bees, or beetles know that the bird will not be far away. It may have a somewhat ugly habit, but with its black mask and grey plumage - few could call the bird unappealing.

Adult birds have a white belly and throat and the female’s chest is often a faintly barred pale grey. Look out for a medium to long tail and a small hooked black bill. They are comparable in size to a large thrush.

Juvenile colouring is similar but duller with a pinkish base to the bill.

Brain first

Prey is dismantled fairly readily but it can take a minute or so to kill a small mammal such as a vole. The Shrike bites the back of the neck many times until the spinal cord is ruptured. Animals like voles will often struggle and fight back so it has been called a death dance.

Once death occurs, the Shrike carries its prey to a chosen perch. Prey is often wedged into the fork of a tree or impaled on thorns.

The Shrike eats the brain first and then other parts of the head. The body is then dismembered. Fur, feathers, bones and other indigestible items are disgorged later as pellets.

Lowland areas

Great Grey Shrikes prefer lowland heathland areas and the birds that venture here may return to traditional sites. They are territorial so only one bird is likely to be seen in an area.

If you think you may have seen one, don’t forget to look up and scan the trees as these birds favour high-up branches as vantage points. Watch out for some aerial commotion as Great Grey Shrikes will often be mobbed by other birds and seen as a predator.

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