Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Breeding Range. (Fig. 132). Common in the southern portion of the Little Missouri Slope (within Bowman, Slope, Golden Valley, and Billings Counties); fairly common in the northern portion of the Little Missouri Slope, on the Northwestern Drift Plain, and in the southern portion of the Agassiz Lake Plain Region (within eastern Ransom County and northern Richland County); fairly common locally on the Missouri Slope, Coteau Slope and Missouri Coteau; uncommon and local on the Southern Drift Plain, Northeastern Drift Plain, Agassiz Lake Plain (except for southern portion), and in the Turtle Mountains.
Breeding Habitat. The Loggerhead Shrike may be considered as an open-country edge species that occurs in or near thickets of small trees and shrubs within or adjacent to cropland fields or tracts of native prairie. Scattered natural thickets are characteristic habitats as are open woody growth established by man, including shelterbelts, cemeteries, and farmsteads.
Nesting. Breeding season: Mid-April to early August; peak, early May to mid-July. Extreme egg dates (9 nests): April 18 [1917] in Richland County (Jensen 1918) to June 19 [1898] in Ramsey County (Rolfe 1899b). Nestling dates (2 nests): June 3 [1915] in Richland County (R. Kellogg) and July 3 [1970] in Stutsman County (B. E. Burkett). Extreme dates of dependent young out of the nest (21 records): June 5 [1915] in Richland County (V. Bailey) to August 2 [1913] in Golden Valley County (S. G. Jewett).
Nests are usually situated in isolated small trees with dense foliage or in thickets of small trees and shrubs. Elevations above the ground for six nests ranged from 5 to 16 feet, and averaged 8.5 feet.
Indicated clutch size (9 nests): 4 to 6 eggs; mean, 5.4 eggs.
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| Figure 132. Breeding Range of Loggerhead Shrike. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/bbofnd/species/6220.htm
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Menlo Park, CA [caww54]
