h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There was a play/movie by that title

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shrike_(film)

(The irony of the film was that Mel Ferrer, the husband who was victimized by a shrikelike wife, was in real life rather hard on his wife, Rosemary Clooney, at least by her recollections).

Anyway, if you aren't the bird's prey, you can appreciate its colors.

Hello! Sounds like a film I'd like to see. But little to do with the actual birdies over here I reckon!

Glad to hear it. Predatory could just be a matter of eating insects or worms or the occasional slug. Without something to keep populations down, they could cause problems with the local foliage

I'm actually grateful for them for keeping down the population of caterpillars in my garden. Major chompage happening ... fortunately most of my plants are quite tough as well.

I sprinkle garlic powder on the plants I don't want the local rabbits/woodchucks to eat. Can't control the caterpillars, though I actually *want* the Monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have three kinds of milkwood, but none of it will come up before late May