Fauna of Ireland bear mtDNA. The closest surviving brown bear is Ursus arctos middendorffi in Alaska. Only one land reptile is native to the country, the viviparous lizard. It is common in national parks, particularly in the Wicklow Mountains. Slowworms are common in parts of The Burren area in County Clare, but they are not a native species and were probably introduced in the 1970s. Five marine turtle species appear regularly off the west coast, the leatherback, green, hawksbill, loggerhead, and Kemp's ridley, but they very rarely come ashore. Legend attributes the absence of snakes in Ireland to Saint Patrick, who is said
Loggerhead shrike length, tail length, and colour. "L. l. migrans" have a paler forehead than the top of the head. According to Mundy et al.’s 1997 study, there is a substantial genetic difference between the island subspecies "L. l. mearnsi" and the mainland subspecies "L. l. gambeli" due to a gene flow barrier between the two species. The loggerhead shrike is a medium-sized passerine. "Loggerhead" refers to the relatively large size of the head as compared to the rest of the body. It measures approximately 9 inches from bill to tail. The wing and tail length is about 3.82 and 3.87 inches