Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis) is a large grey, black and white songbird with a hooked bill, black eye mask, white wing flashes and a long tail. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in northern North America and Siberia, hunting insects, birds and small mammals from exposed perches and storing surplus prey on thorns or other sharp projections. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).