Like a pint-sized raptor, the shrike hunts by watching from tree branches and soars down on prey. But unlike raptors, the northern shrike doesn’t have powerful wings and talons to make a kill.

It's a simple problem that deserves a black-and-white solution. But for more than 120 years, this question about magpies has ruffled feathers in South Australia: Why is the bird on the state's ...