PASSERES — • lANHDiE — LANIUS. 127 



FAMILY LANIIDjE. 



Bill robust, convex above, much compressed at the sides, abruptly bent and deeply notched. 

 Claws much curved and very acute. Plumage soft and blended. Carnivorous or insecti- 

 vorous. 



GENUS LANIUS. Linnaeus. Bonaparte. 



Bill straight from its origin, with advancing bristles at its base. Upper mandible rounded 

 above, notched, hooked and acute at the tip ; the lower likewise notched, and also toothed 

 at the tip. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, half closed by a membrane. Tarsus rather short, 

 compressed, slender, with eight scutella? ; shorter than the middle toe. First quill very 

 short ; third and fourth longest. 



THE NORTHERN BUTCHER-BIRD, 



Lanius septentrionalis. 



PLATE XXXVII. FIG. 81 (Male). 

 (STATE COLLECTION.) 



Lanius septentrionalis, Gmelin. L. borealis, VlEII.LOT, Vol.1, p. 80, pi. 50. 



It. excubitoT. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 74, pi. 5, fig. 1 (male). 



L. borealis. Bonaparte, Obs. No. 33. 



L. septentrionalis. Id. Ann. Lye. N. V. Vol. ?, p. 72. 



L. excubitor. Audubon, folio, pi. 192. 



i. semptentrionalis. Nuttall, Man. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 258, figure. ^ 



L. borealis. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol. 2, p. Ill, pi. 33 (female). Audubon, B. of A. Vol. 4, p. 130, pi. 236 



(male, female and young). 

 Nine-killer. Heckewelder, Am. Phil. Soc. Vol. 4, p. 124. Peabody, Birds of Mass. p. 291. , 

 L. borealis. Giraud, Birds of Long Island, p. 155. 



Characteristics. Light slate ; beneath white, undulated with pale brown. Wings, tail, 

 and eye-stripe black. Outer tail-feathers entirely white. Female, with 

 the eye-stripe obscure. Young, greyish drab : four of the middle tail' 

 feathers wholly black. Length, 10 inches. 



Description. Bill compressed, with a stout abrupt tooth on the upper mandible, with 

 strong bristles at the corners of the mouth, and the oval nostrils are concealed by bristly hairs. 

 Wings moderate : fourth quill longest ; the third slightly shorter ; the first half the length of 

 the second. Tail wedge-shaped, an inch and a half longer than the tips of the wings. 



Color. Light ash-grey above, with a slight tinge of bluish. Bill bluish at the base, darker 



