Great Grey Shrike

Scan open country, heathland and farmland with hedgerows or scattered trees for a pale, long-tailed bird perched prominently while watching for prey below. It hunts large insects and small vertebrates, sometimes impaling surplus prey on thorns or barbed wire, a habit that gives it the nickname "butcher bird." In much of its range it is most conspicuous in winter, when individuals hold visible hunting territories.