I talk about shrikes in my annual Halloween natural history lecture and my students are universally horrified and delighted by these tiny murderers. Fun fact: the actual shrike inspired Dan Simmons’ monster in his novel Hyperion. - ThreadSky

jacquelyngill.bsky.social • 103 days ago

I talk about shrikes in my annual Halloween natural history lecture and my students are universally horrified and delighted by these tiny murderers.

Fun fact: the actual shrike inspired Dan Simmons’ monster in his novel Hyperion.

Reposted from Rosemary Mosco

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jadehawk.bsky.social•103 days ago

fun shrike fact: i learned about them from star trek

ntrnchck.bsky.social•103 days ago

wait, huh, which series/episode?!

jadehawk.bsky.social•103 days ago

last season of picard IIRC, the "bad guy" has a ship named shrike, and they monologue at some point about what it's named after

ntrnchck.bsky.social•103 days ago

ohhhh, very cool! 👍🏽

rockyrex.bsky.social•103 days ago

I think this shrike is called Garek. IYKYK.

tomkimmerer.bsky.social•103 days ago

Whenever I pull barbed wire, I think about how grateful the shrikes must be to Lucien Smith and the other inventors of barbed wire.

bleuquila.bsky.social•103 days ago

I had never heard of a shrike (bird) when I read Hyperion and it was later that I saw the word in print in a different context and was like wait, thats a real thing??! badass!!

pvdw100.bsky.social•103 days ago

One of my all time favorite sci-fi books. Shrikes are fun!

flooder3a.bsky.social•103 days ago

Have they filed a grievance with the Crow union for use of their collective noun??

damemyniah.bsky.social•103 days ago

My wildlife class was divided into teams, my team was the Loggerhead Shrikes.

jacquelyngill.bsky.social•103 days ago

Excellent choice! Did you spear the competition up on some nice honey locust thorns?

coweatherman.bsky.social•103 days ago

We get a shrike in our yard every spring.

jacquelyngill.bsky.social•103 days ago

BRB, moving into your house.

coweatherman.bsky.social•103 days ago

Bring snacks

ntrnchck.bsky.social•103 days ago

My favorite little murder bird! 🥰

mark-gila.bsky.social•103 days ago

We raised 4 baby Northern Shrikes when I was a kid. Wonderful birds! Released them...one landed on a guys shoulder and stayed with him...read it in article in paper.

kesslercodes.bsky.social•103 days ago

I've seen their handiwork. Chilling.

joekyne.bsky.social•103 days ago

Did not realize this was a real thing. Assumed the Shrike was invented whole cloth out of the mind that terrifies Stephen King.

lookup22.bsky.social•103 days ago

We have these where I work. I find their leavings pinned to barbs of the barbed wire fence. Fascinating creatures

kejames.bsky.social•103 days ago

Do you know the @hozier.bsky.social song? I *love*. https://youtu.be/Bwe1O29sfRY?si=NFDMZ_CxYRViXcTn

jacquelyngill.bsky.social•103 days ago

I did not! Thank you!

curiousaboutupdog.bsky.social•103 days ago

I really need to reread the Hyperion Cantos. It's been like ten years.

thatlilfucker.bsky.social•103 days ago

📌

nglab.bsky.social•103 days ago

I didn't know about them until we were looking at some land where we would have had to have a loggerhead shrike assessment before being allowed to build. Googling found some amazing pics of the murder floof.

wigfortuna.bsky.social•103 days ago

Such fun

grnmtnj.bsky.social•103 days ago

If I wasn't already following you, the mention of my favorite novel would have gotten me to. ;)

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