THE NORTHERN SHRIKE OR BUTCHER-BIRD 



Shrike Family — Laniidos 



Length: A little over 10 inches. 



Male and Female: Gray above, lighter underneath; forehead, 

 rump, and uppef tail-coverts white; wings black, 

 irregularly marked with white; tail black, bordered 

 with whitp; a heavy black streak extendin,g from the 

 bill beyond the eye; bill hooked and blackish. 



Notes: A call-note and a sweet song. 



Habitat: Fields or roadsides where it can find insects, small 

 rodents, and little birds for its prey. 



Range: Northern North America. Breeds from northwestern 

 Alaska and northern Canada to the base of the 

 Alaskan Peninsula, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Que- 

 bec; winters south to central California, Arizona, 

 New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky, and Virginia. 



The LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, a resident of the South- 

 ern States, is similar to the Northern Shrike but 

 smaller. It is found from southern Florida to North 

 Carolina and west to Louisiana. Northward this 

 species is represented by the migrant shrike, nest- 

 ing locally from Virginia and" eastern Kansas to the 

 southern border of Canada. 



SHRIKES or Butcher-Birds are attractive to look at, but 

 have a habit which renders them extremely unpop- 

 ular. They pursue small rodents and little birds and im- 

 pale them upon sharp twigs, thorns, or barbed wire fences. 

 In excuse for these cruel acts, it must be said that they 

 have not strong, sharp talons like hawks and owls; in order 

 to tear their prey to pieces, there must be a way of holding 



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