HOW THE SHRIKE HUNTS. 



243 



bird. And though very often the shrike hangs up its prey- 

 by driving a sharp thorn through its neck, the bird must be 

 dead before this is done, because the shrike has neither the 



strength nor the sharp claws needed 



to carry a struggling and frantic 



bird from a quarter to half as heavy 



as himself. It is his custom either 



to peck his victim on the head, or 



to throttle it by pinching its throat, 



but not to torture it. Hanging it 



up is a mere matter 



of convenience, and 



shows that the shrike 



has forethought for 



the rainy day that is 



coming, when dinner 



will not be so easily obtained. If 



any young observer finds where the 



shrike has left his meat, he should 



leave it and watch it occasionally, 



to see whether the bird ever comes 



back for it. 



Since the shrike has a bad name, 

 let us see what harm it does. In 

 winter the great northern shrike has 

 a very limited bill of fare. A few 

 chickadees, nuthatches, downy wood- 

 peckers, red - polls, crossbills, pine 

 linnets, snow buntings, and tree-spar- 

 rows, with possibly, now and then, 

 a pine grosbeak are all the birds, 

 except the English sparrow, small enough for him to master, 



Fig. 51. Sparrow huno up 

 BY Shrike. 



