i have reviewed my photos of the Shrike seen at West End and conclude that it is a Northern Shrike based on barring on the breast that I did not notice while in the field. Additionally, the width of the black mask seems more appropriate for Northern than Loggerhead. The bill also has a much heavier hook than a Loggerhead Shrike, something I noted in my initial observation that gave me pause. I downloaded two photos of the bird to my flickr site, along with a photo of the Loggerhead Shrike seen at the West End Nature Center in the late Fall of 2010. The photo of the Loggerhead shows a head shape that appears very rounded, much more so than today's Shrike.
In the way of background information, this bird was apparently seen yesterday and not reported for reasons unknown. Even as a shrike sp., this bird would be of interest to the birding community. Once again, if someone feels my ID is incorrect, a discussion on this listserve would be a good learning experience for everyone. Good Birding, Ken Feustel http://www.flickr.com/photos/kfeustel/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
