A shrike expert once told me Shrikes sing their jumbled-up, catbird-like 
song year-round to do just this, attract other birds within striking 
range.  But this is the first time I've heard anyone tell of actually 
seeing that happen.  Nifty sighting!  I've also never seen an adult 
mocker be the pursued instead of the pursuer, come to think of it.

Thanks for sharing the story.

Jane



Al Merritt wrote:

> Location:     Vernon, Windham County, VT, US
> Observation date:     3/10/07
> Notes:     A first winter bird observed on Peck Road. It gave a scolding
> call and then a series of chirps which attracted a Mockingbird. The mocker
> flew towards it but then became the persued as the shrike flew in pursuit
> but never came close to catching it.
> Number of species:     1
> 
> Northern Shrike     1
> 
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v2
> (http://www.ebird.org/vins)
> 
> 
> Al & Barb Merritt
> W. Brattleboro, VT
> 
> 
>