SHRIKE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Shrike

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noun

Shrike n. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of oscinine birds of the family Laniidae, having a strong hooked bill, toothed at the tip. Most shrikes are insectivorous, but the common European gray shrike (Lanius excubitor), the great northern shrike (Lanius borealis), and several others, kill mice, small birds, etc., and often impale them on thorns, and are, on that account called also butcher birds. See under Butcher. Note: The ant shrikes, or bush shrikes, are clamatorial birds of the family Formicaridae. The cuckoo shrikes of the East Indies and Australia are Oscines of the family Campephagidae. The drongo shrikes of the same regions belong to the related family Dicruridae. See Drongo.

Crow shrike. See under Crow.

Shrike thrush.

(a)

Any one of several species of Asiatic timaline birds of the genera Thamnocataphus, Gampsorhynchus, and allies.

(b)

Any one of several species of shrikelike Australian singing birds of the genus Colluricincla.

Shrike tit.

(a)

Any one of several Australian birds of the genus Falcunculus, having a strong toothed bill and sharp claws. They creep over the bark of trees, like titmice, in search of insects.

(b)

Any one of several species of small Asiatic birds belonging to Allotrius, Pteruthius, Cutia, Leioptila, and allied genera, related to the true tits. Called also hill tit.

Swallow shrike. See under Swallow.

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Etymology of 'Shrike'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Shrike" Quotes from Famous Books

... Hawk or shrike has done this deed Of downy feathers: rueful sight! Sweet sentimentalist, invite Your ...

— The Shaving of Shagpat • George Meredith

... is found everywhere among the corn. This is the Filago spathulata of the botanists; and the bird also makes use, though less frequently, of the Filago germanica, or common cotton-rose. Both are known in Provencal by the name herbo dou tarnagas, or Shrike-herb. This popular designation tells us plainly how faithful the bird is to its plant. To have struck the agricultural labourer, a very indifferent observer, the Shrike's choice of materials must ...

— Bramble-bees and Others • J. Henri Fabre

... its rich, dual note, the red-crowned fruit pigeon tolled its mournful chime, and the guttural of the magnificent fruit pigeon—often heard, but seldom seen—came from the jungle close at hand. Not one of these birds was visible, nor was the fluty-voiced shrike thrush, which answers every strange call and mimics crude attempts to reproduce its varied notes. The blue kingfisher is investigating the tumour made by white ants in the bloodwood wherein the nest is annually excavated, and soon the chattering notes of the pair will ...

— Tropic Days • E. J. Banfield

... Blyth on a single specimen, which was found without its head, impaled by some shrike upon a thorn at Cherrapunji. The same thing occasionally occurs in England, when the common shrew may be found impaled by the rufous-backed ...

— Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon • Robert A. Sterndale

... hour. All the birds have been stricken dumb or have been banished, yet as an echo to any violation of the silence comes the sweet, mellow, inquisitive note of the "moor-goody" (to use the black's name, for the shrike thrush). The bird seems fond of sound and will answer in trills and chuckles attempts to ...

— My Tropic Isle • E J Banfield

Words linked to "Shrike" : ant shrike, European shrike, Lanius ludovicianus migrans, butcherbird, family Laniidae, white-rumped shrike, loggerhead shrike, bush shrike, piping crow-shrike, migrant shrike, northern shrike, Laniidae, oscine, oscine bird