“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” Isaiah 40:28
Among the birds the Creator has placed throughout the world, there are more than fifty varieties of the shrike. They are usually about the size of a blue jay, and all of them eat nothing but flesh, including insects, snakes, small birds, mice and other rodents.
While most of them have feathers of black or brown with some white underneath, there are three unusual ones—the woodchat, with a brilliant red top on its head; the gray-headed, which has gray on the front of its head, changing to green on its back and tail with a soft-yellow underside; and the plumed helmet, with a white feathery plume above the back of its head.
The great shrike is the most common in North America, with a ten- to fourteen-inch body and a wingspan of more than a foot. Its strong, notched bill is equipped with a sharp, hooked point like other birds of prey. As with other shrikes, it nests in trees or shrubs where a cup-shaped nest is lined with feathers, fibers and hair and sometimes decorated with old snakeskins.
These birds use high, exposed perches as vantage points. They have pretty, warbling songs, sometimes mimicking other birds. But a harsh, shrieking call is made when a victim is spotted, and then, swooping down swiftly, its catch is made in midair or on the ground and is promptly killed.
Since its claws are not strong enough to carry its prey any distance, it usually hangs it on a nearby support. This may be a large thorn, the sharp point of a broken branch, or the barbs of a wire fence. There it tears its prey to pieces and eats what it can, taking some to its nest of babies and leaving the remainder for another meal. This is how it got the nickname “butcherbird” and also why it is an unpopular bird to many people. However, farmers are always glad to have them nearby, knowing they are a help in destroying harmful insects, mice and other pests.
Perhaps the Creator provided the shrike to benefit people in this way, for God’s first thoughts concerning the creatures of earth are toward man. The Bible says, “God created man in His own image ... and God blessed them, and God said unto them ... have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that [moves] upon the earth” (Genesis 1:27-28).
The Bible also tells boys and girls to “remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). How important it is to remember Him not only as the Creator, but to know Him as your own Lord and Saviour. Is this true of you?
ML-08/21/2011