Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for butcher, and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. Shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects, small birds, or mammals and impaling their bodies on thorns. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently-sized fragments, and serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrike
