This is Bird Note.

The Northern Shrike is a robin-sized pale grey bird with black wings and a jet-black mask.

But don't let this quirky metallic song fool you. It's the call of a blood-thirsty killer.

The Northern Shrike breathes in the tundra and tiger of the north, but migrates south for the winter,

perching on the tops of tall trees and shrubs to look for prey.

The Shrike is a meat eater, diving from its tall purges to catch insects, small mammals, and even other birds.

It's such a fierce hunter. It'll often take down prey bigger than itself.

Then, it carries its meal over to a thorny bush, or maybe to a barbed wire fence, and impales it,

sticking its meat on a hook before slowly tearing it apart, the way we might eat a rotisserie chicken.

That's why Shrikes are also known by another name, The Butcher Birds.

If you want to see a Northern Shrike in action, head to Open Country in Canada and the Northern US,

and listen for the Butcher Birds innocent sounding song.

For Bird Note, I'm Ashley Ahern.