WOODCHAT SHRIKE
Luckily for me, the woodchat shrike likes to perch on the tops of trees and bushes, to keep an eye out for potential prey. This allows a budding photographer, a decent chance of a photo. They have a striking appearance, pied above and black wings, with a bold white flash. Their crowns and napes (back of neck) are a reddish chestnut, richer in colour on the male, and they both have startlingly bright white underparts. They also have the short, stout, hooked bills of all shrikes.
As I mentioned, they like to keep a lookout for the next meal. They will eat large insects, rodents, lizards and small birds. Woodchat shrikes prefer bushy areas as well as open countryside, orchards, olive groves and a few scattered trees. They come up from Africa, where they wintered, and can be seen from April through to October, here on the island. I have seen them in many habitats here, from the mountains and valleys to the scrub behind the beaches.
