Of butcher birds and Western diamondbacks

I was so intent on determining what was in the beak of the loggerhead shrike that just missed my windshield that I almost ran over the three-plus foot Western diamondback, Crotalus atrox.

I was rolling south out of Marfa, Tex., at a pretty good clip when the shrike decided to defy death and swooped through at hood ornament level.

As I braked, I noted the bird had a tiny snake, slender about 9 inches long, in its beak. I went down the road a bit, U-turned, returned, and U-turned again. The shrike had perched on a barbed wire fence and was still holding the limp snake. I slowed and still carrying the snake the shrike departed. So much for a possible identification.

After checking the mirrors (no cars in sight), I glanced into the "shrike field" again and started pulling out. Something on the ground just in front of the car moved, and I slammed on the brakes.

I got out to the agitated cadence from a telltale rattle. My front left tire was about a half an inch away from a stretched out 3-and-a-half foot Western diamondback. He had crawled out of the grasses while I was meditating unsuccessfully on the shrike-prey.

I watched for a moment and the snake started forward again. Since it seemed evident that it intended to cross the four-lane, sometimes busy, roadway I hooked the snake into a bucket, covered the bucket, carried the snake across the road, and turned it loose.

I wished it bon voyage and it wasted no time disappearing into the roadside vegetation.

More photos under the jump...

It takes no more than a few roadside grasses to provide the western diamondback with perfect camouflage: The loggerhead shrike is also known as the butcher bird: SHRIKE1.jpg

Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.