: Rowan (the "Butcher") and Sloane (the "Blackbird") are professional, meticulous, and unexpectedly charming.
Breeds in the far north (Alaska, Canada, Siberia) and winters in the northern United States. You will see them from October to March. Loggerhead Shrike: A year-round resident in the southern U.S. and Mexico, though populations are crashing due to habitat loss. Butcher Blackbird
While the shrike is technically a songbird (Order: Passeriformes), its beak has convergently evolved to mimic that of a falcon. It features a sharp, hooked tip and a specialized notch near the tip of the upper mandible, known as the "tomial tooth." This notch acts like a can opener. : Rowan (the "Butcher") and Sloane (the "Blackbird")
Next time you hear a soft, melodious warble from a fence post on a cold December morning, do not look for a friendly blackbird. Look for the mask. And if you see a row of impaled mice glistening on a barbed wire fence, tip your hat. You have met the Butcher. Loggerhead Shrike: A year-round resident in the southern U
If you’ve spent any time on BookTok or Bookstagram lately, you’ve likely seen a cover featuring a shadowy bird and a pair of very sharp-looking knives. This is Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver, the first book in the Ruinous Love trilogy, and it is taking the dark romance world by storm. But what exactly is it? Think meets a spicy romantic comedy. The Premise: A Friendly Little Murder Competition
Here is where the butchery begins. Upon catching its prey, the shrike carries it to a thorn bush, a barbed-wire fence, or a sharp twig. With a precise, violent motion, the bird its catch onto the spike.
Why? Because the shrike hunts like a small, feathered raptor. It impales its prey—mice, small birds, large insects—on thorns, barbed wire, or sharp branches. These larders are grotesque pantries. A blackthorn hedge might hold a dozen corpses: a goldfinch here, a vole there, all spiked and drying in the wind.