Shrikes are a fierce preparatory hunting bird. Shrikes measure up to three feet in height and have been occasionally been used for hunting, though they are difficult to train and impossible to truly tame.
Ferocious fighters, they were rumored to have been used to hunt men in the barbaric days of the old. They are a [Roc]”s worst enemy. Rarer than their cousin, they are only slightly smaller than a Rocs but much faster over a short distance, leaner, and much meaner.
All Shrikes are fiercely territorial, but War Shrikes will use their cruelly hooked beaks and razor-edged talons to fight to the death, with little thought for their own survival.
When possible, a number of War Shrikes will also gang up on a Roc, whose only defense is to gain altitude and attempt to outdistance them.
War Shrikes are fast short-range fliers but often will not follow a Roc beyond a certain distance. They cannot be trained or tamed. Shrikes are found mainly in Sargaso and Venuso.