The loggerhead shrike has small feet and a small bill with a slight hook at the tip. This habit allows it to eat prey too large to hold with its feet. Recent research suggests the male shrike's pantry might help it attract females and feed the young as they learn to hunt. Shrikes return to Minnesota in early spring. Males select territories in grasslands with a few scattered red cedars, plum trees, or other small trees for perching and nesting.
Shrikes also use vegetated fence lines as lookout posts.
Fledglings stay with the adults about four weeks. Shrikes tend to nest in the same area every year if the habitat remains. They were once found in grasslands around the state, except in the Arrowhead region. Recent surveys have found fewer than 30 nests in southern and western Minnesota, with a small concentration in Dakota, Rice, and Goodhue counties. Please report sightings of this Minnesota threatened species between April 1 and Sept. 30 to the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program, call the DNR Information Center.