Northern Shrike

Erika spied and I photographed this immature Northern Shrike at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge on 13 November 2019, Immatures and first winter birds, as they slowly molt, tend to look more and more like adults as the winter progresses. The young birds tend to sport brownish wash on thier upper parts, and they tend to be dusky and finely vermiculated below. Their black masks are usually less distinct. Across their Arctic breeding range, western birds tend to be slightly darker than eastern ones. I was surprised by how brown our bird was—I do not recall ever seeing a bird this brown in Minnesota or South Dakota.