Chris & Leslie, Yup. I've had several name-a-bird experiences, but this one tops my list of good ones. About 20 years ago, I was birding with my father, my uncle (father's brother), and my cousin (uncle's son)--you see, I've got birding genes--all of us grew up birding. So we'r e traipsing along a trail at Ottawa NWR near Toledo, Ohio in late D ecember. None of us has ever been there. Not one of us knew what exactly to expect. We passed a wide open expanse of grass, sh rubs, and marsh and came near a grove of short, gnarly, hawthorn trees with big thorns on them. I remar ke d outloud, "This looks like shrike territory." <insert a five se cond lapse in time here>...and voila! A Northern Shrike flies acr oss the road in front of us. We are all speechless for a moment. Finally, my uncle breaks the silence with a twinkle in his eye, "Way to go birdnose!" We all broke into a good, hearty laugh. -Greg Miller Lusby, MD