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Description
Common Name: Hill-of-Thorns Shrike

Scientific Name: Pseudofalco collispinaes

Length: 40 to 60 centimeters from head to tail

Weight: 340 to 1000 grams

Diet: Lizards, snakes, waterfowl, pigeons, songbirds, other birds, rodents, shrews, and other small mammals

Distribution: The dry grassland, open desert, and dry mountainous areas of the Taiyang Desert in Asia

Lifespan: 10 to 15 years

Description: Tool use is uncommon in most animal families. Although, it has shown up several times throughout the Cenozoic. The one that had the most impact on the world was the human race. When humans were still alive, they were the most widespread and prolific primate species. Humans were, however, not alone in their intelligence levels. Other primates—such as chimpanzees and gorillas—show many signs of tool usage. Chimpanzees and gorillas use sticks to forage for ants and termites. Some non-primate examples include dolphins, elephants, sea otters, and corvids. The most brutal tool use behavior in the animal kingdom is the shrikes. Shrikes are relatively tiny passerine birds native to North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Despite their friendly appearance, these birds are brutal hunters. Most shrike species impale their prey on thorns after killing it. They use the thorns of trees as meat hooks and tear apart their prey limb from limb. In the Novicene, one shrike grew in size due to the lack of falcons. This Asian species of shrike is known as the hill-of-thorns shrike.
The hill-of-thorns shrike, also known as the the butcher’s bird, is a medium-sized bird of prey with the personality of a murderous infant. These birds are exceedingly aggressive, attacking most animals that come into their territory. This behavior causes them to get a negative reputation among researchers and wandering macaques alike. They also have a high-pitch, shrill scream which they use to both communicate with each other and scare off perceived predators. The call sounds like a dying rabbit, which is why the wandering macaques call them “sniver crufo hick” or death rabbit bird in English. They evolved the standard sharp curved beak most birds of prey have. On the other hand, their claws are something that are unique to them. These talons hold the function as a grasping tool and as a knife to cut prey into smaller pieces. The ends of these claws are able to cut through the tough scales of some lizards. After cutting up their prey into bite-sized pieces, they put the pieces on their hill-of-thorns.
The hill-of-thorns is a structure made by the shrikes to store their food. This hill provides a degree of safety from arboreal scavengers. This structure is made of dirt, sticks, water, and leaves. These hills can measure over two meters tall, which is impressive for a falcon-sized bird. Although, it does take many years for it to get this size. The inside of the hill is mostly hollow, except for a few sticks to stabilize the whole mound. The outer layer is completely covered in dirt and sharpened sticks. These sticks both help defend the hill from would-be predators, but also works as a place for the shrikes to keep their food. The layer underneath the dirt is a woven basket-like structure, which works as the foundation for the hill. These hills also work as the birds’ nests. They will build a little bowl-like structure out of dirt. After this process is completed, they will lay their eggs in the nest. This whole behavior is quite outstanding when it is coming from a bird of its size.

Sorry, if any of the description sounds weird. I wrote most of it on my phone on a plane with 4 hours of sleep.

Description
Common Name: Hill-of-Thorns Shrike

Scientific Name: Pseudofalco collispinaes

Length: 40 to 60 centimeters from head to tail

Weight: 340 to 1000 grams

Diet: Lizards, snakes, waterfowl, pigeons, songbirds, other birds, rodents, shrews, and other small mammals

Distribution: The dry grassland, open desert, and dry mountainous areas of the Taiyang Desert in Asia

Lifespan: 10 to 15 years

Description: Tool use is uncommon in most animal families. Although, it has shown up several times throughout the Cenozoic. The one that had the most impact on the world was the human race. When humans were still alive, they were the most widespread and prolific primate species. Humans were, however, not alone in their intelligence levels. Other primates—such as chimpanzees and gorillas—show many signs of tool usage. Chimpanzees and gorillas use sticks to forage for ants and termites. Some non-primate examples include dolphins, elephants, sea otters, and corvids. The most brutal tool use behavior in the animal kingdom is the shrikes. Shrikes are relatively tiny passerine birds native to North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Despite their friendly appearance, these birds are brutal hunters. Most shrike species impale their prey on thorns after killing it. They use the thorns of trees as meat hooks and tear apart their prey limb from limb. In the Novicene, one shrike grew in size due to the lack of falcons. This Asian species of shrike is known as the hill-of-thorns shrike.
The hill-of-thorns shrike, also known as the the butcher’s bird, is a medium-sized bird of prey with the personality of a murderous infant. These birds are exceedingly aggressive, attacking most animals that come into their territory. This behavior causes them to get a negative reputation among researchers and wandering macaques alike. They also have a high-pitch, shrill scream which they use to both communicate with each other and scare off perceived predators. The call sounds like a dying rabbit, which is why the wandering macaques call them “sniver crufo hick” or death rabbit bird in English. They evolved the standard sharp curved beak most birds of prey have. On the other hand, their claws are something that are unique to them. These talons hold the function as a grasping tool and as a knife to cut prey into smaller pieces. The ends of these claws are able to cut through the tough scales of some lizards. After cutting up their prey into bite-sized pieces, they put the pieces on their hill-of-thorns.
The hill-of-thorns is a structure made by the shrikes to store their food. This hill provides a degree of safety from arboreal scavengers. This structure is made of dirt, sticks, water, and leaves. These hills can measure over two meters tall, which is impressive for a falcon-sized bird. Although, it does take many years for it to get this size. The inside of the hill is mostly hollow, except for a few sticks to stabilize the whole mound. The outer layer is completely covered in dirt and sharpened sticks. These sticks both help defend the hill from would-be predators, but also works as a place for the shrikes to keep their food. The layer underneath the dirt is a woven basket-like structure, which works as the foundation for the hill. These hills also work as the birds’ nests. They will build a little bowl-like structure out of dirt. After this process is completed, they will lay their eggs in the nest. This whole behavior is quite outstanding when it is coming from a bird of its size.

Sorry, if any of the description sounds weird. I wrote most of it on my phone on a plane with 4 hours of sleep.