Most major works discussing the population status of the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) in North America indicate that this predatory songbird has declined in population numbers at a rate of >2%/year since at least the mid-
1960s (Root 1988, Price et al. 1995, Yosef 1996, Lefranc 1997, Pardieck and Sauer 2000). The most recent major works discussing the status of the shrike in Alabama (Imhof 1976) and Tennessee (Robinson 1990, Nicholson 1997) also refer to its declining population numbers. The major work for Mississippi (Toups and Jackson 1987) does not deal with the species’ population status as a focal point and so does not mention this matter. Nearly all of the aforementioned works offering discussions about the population status of this species base comments on various population data, mainly from Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) and Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), acquired no later than the mid-1990s. Only one source (Pardieck and Sauer 2000) provides commentary based on data acquired during the late 1990s, and in this case the data are derived from the BBS. Therefore, an update of the shrike ‘s status in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee based on the most recent CBC data appears warranted, especially in light ofthe continuing decline in the shrike’s population numbers.
Author: Stephen J. Stedman and Michael R. Allen
Volume Number: 49 Year Published: 2003
Issue Number: 2
Page Number: 1
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2003/Vol. 49 No 2 2003_p1-6.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2003/Vol. 49 No 2 2003.pdf
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