oS 



THE NORTHERN SHRIKE. 



times being very dull, the black quite brownish, or, if both 

 these are quite clear, the drab may be clear and bright, con- 

 taining nothing of the olivaceous. This bird is an inch 

 longer than its cousin, the White-rumped Shrike, the latter 

 being a very common summer resident here, while the 

 former generally spends only the milder or early part of the 

 winter with us;* and all the noise we ever hear from it in 

 that time is a hoarse scream, reminding one a little of a 

 Hawk. Generally it is solitary, but sometimes it is accom- 

 panied by a mate. It must pass the colder part of the win- 

 ter a little farther south, but is back again on its way north 

 early in spring. It is reported as spending the entire winter 

 in the vicinity of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, and as 

 making its winter trips as far south as 35'^. 



A few days since, while spending some hours with one of 

 the farmers of my parish, I had a good opportunity to note 

 certain habits of this bird. My friend was drawing in corn- 

 stalks from the field. Several of these Shrikes, perched in 

 small trees scattered in the immediate vicinity, seemed bound 

 to keep him company. Occasionally one would fly out a 

 short distance from his perch, and hover in quest of prey, 

 precisely in the manner of the Sparrow Hawk {Falco 'spar- 

 verius). Not infrequently a mouse would start out on remov- 

 ing a shock, when it was instantly gobbled up by the 

 familiar, sharp-eyed bird. On removing one shock, a nest of 

 full-grown rats was disturbed, some of which escaped the 

 farmer's boot-heel and fork-tines. Presently I heard a loud 

 squeaking in a corner of the fence near by. On hurrying 

 to the spot, I found a Shrike, regaling itself on one of the 

 young rats, and so intent on its meal that, though I was 

 almost near enough to put my hand on it, it eyed 



* If it be verj' mild and open, the Great Northern Shrike may remain in Western New 

 York throughout the winter. The Loggerhead is a southern species of which the White- 

 rump is a variety, 



