Illustration of shrike
shrike
noun
ˈshrīk 
especially Southern ˈsrīk
: 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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web 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 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 The first Northern shrike of the winter arrived at Plum Island. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019 One of the few natural predators of live lubbers is the shrike, a small bird that can decapitate the grasshoppers with its beak or impale them on thorns or barbed-wire fences. Adriana Brasileiro, orlandosentinel.com, 19 July 2019 All the livestock is gone now, and after some early failures, shrikes are being re-introduced in greater numbers. John Wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, 17 Sep. 2017 See More
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 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 The first Northern shrike of the winter arrived at Plum Island. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019 One of the few natural predators of live lubbers is the shrike, a small bird that can decapitate the grasshoppers with its beak or impale them on thorns or barbed-wire fences. Adriana Brasileiro, orlandosentinel.com, 19 July 2019 All the livestock is gone now, and after some early failures, shrikes are being re-introduced in greater numbers. John Wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, 17 Sep. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
perhaps from Middle English *shrik, from Old English scrīc thrush; akin to Middle English shriken to shriek
First Known Use
1544, in the meaning defined above