FAM. IX. SHRIKES 101 



10. Bell's Vireo (633. Vireo bellii). — A stout, western, thicket- 

 living, olive-green-backed, yellow-sided vireo, with the ring 

 around the eye, and line from eye to bill white or nearly so. The 

 belly is white, and the crown ashy-gray, gradually changing to 

 a bright olive-green on the rump. This is a smaller bird than 

 the last. 



Length, 4| ; wing, 2^ (2-2 i^) ; tail, 1|; tarsus, |; culoien, |. Great 

 Plains, to the upper Mississippi Valley, eastward to western Indiana, and 

 southwestward to Mexico. 



FAMILY IX. SHRIKES (LANIID^) 



A family (200 species) of mainly Old World birds, repre- 

 sented in America by two species of large-headed, strong- 

 bodied gray birds, with black wings and tail, and white belly. 

 Their size is not much less than that of our robin. 

 The hawk-like bill ^ enables them to capture their 

 prey, which consists of mice, small birds, insects, 

 etc. Their greatest peculiarity is the habit of 

 impaling their food upon thorns, the barbs of wire fences, etc. 

 In watching for their prey, the shrikes almost always occupy 

 the outside twigs of bushes or trees or other exposed situations. 

 When an insect, a small bird, a mammal, or a reptile is seen, 

 they will dart through a distance of many feet and secure it. 



Key to the Species 



* Breast generally with distinct wavy cross lines ; black on the sides of 



the head not connected by a black line on the forehead 



1. Northern Shrike. 



* Breast usually with no distinct wavy cross lines ; black on the sides of 



the head connected by a black line across the forehead 



2. Loggerhead Shrike. 



1. Northern Shrike (621. Ldnius boreciUs). — A graj'-backed, 

 white-bellied bird, with black wings and tail. There are black 

 blotches on the side of the head, which are not joined together 

 by a black line across the forehead, and narrow wavy bars 

 across the breast. It is a low^-flying bird, with a peculiarly 

 straight course till it is ready to alight, when it makes a short 



