1. a small to medium-sized songbird with a hooked bill that impales its prey on thorns or sharp objects

Examples

• The loggerhead shrike perched on the fence post, scanning for insects.
• We spotted a northern shrike in the winter woods.
• The shrike had impaled a grasshopper on a barbed wire fence.
• Shrikes are known for their predatory behavior despite being songbirds.
• The great grey shrike is the largest member of the shrike family.
• A shrike’s hooked beak helps it tear apart small prey.