THE SEAL OF THE SHRIKE ORDER 



547 



Fig. C6.— Aspect of a Shrike. 



one in all essential particulars — reserving for after considera- 

 tion the few points that mark their respective histories. 



Looking at the bold, defiant aspect of the Shrike, however 

 inadequately portrayed in the accompaying sketch, we cannot 

 fail to recognize a bird of extraordinary spirit, — the stout, 

 hooked beak, combining claw and tooth in one murderous 

 instrument, is surely the weapon of a Hawk, or other rapacious 

 bird! In one sense, we certainly have here a bird of prey; 

 yet, if the portrait 

 were finished at full 

 length, we should 

 find the feet as weak 

 and harmless as ^' 

 those of a Thrush 

 or Sparrow, instead 

 of being furnished 

 with the talons 

 which confer such 

 raptorial prowess 

 upon the Falcon, 



the Eagle, and the Owl. If, furthermore, we should examine 

 the anatomy of the Shrikes, it would be merely to discover 

 that the entire structure of the internal organs is modelled 

 after a strictly Passerine type. Though the bone and muscle 

 indicate unusual strength and vigor, the beak itself is the 

 seal of the Shrike order — a mark as plain and unmistakable 

 as that which stamps the tribes of Israel, wherever dispersed 

 over the earth — the symbol of a spirit as bold and reckless 

 as ever dwelt in the breast of any one of the Hawks called 

 "noble" in the olden time, when falconry beguiled the leisure 

 hours of kings and royal mistresses. 



Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in 

 deeds of daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the 

 Shrike compels that sort of deference, not unmixed with indig- 

 nation, we are accustomed to accord to creatures of seeming 

 insignificance, whose exploits demand much strength, great 

 spirit, and insatiate love of carnage. We cannot be indifferent 

 to the marauder who takes his own wherever he finds it — a 

 feudal baron who holds his own with undisputed sway — an 

 ogre whose victims are so many more than he can eat, that he 

 actually keeps a private graveyard for the balance. 



Lest such a picture may seem to be exaggerated, let me 



