402 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. vii. 



culty. The true Shrikes are the most typical of the Dentiros- 

 tres, and in them the toothing of the mandibles is best seen. In 

 their strongly hooked bill and curved claws, a close resemblance 

 may be traced to the birds of prey. The Shrikes are eminently 

 carnivorous in their habits, and not only prey upon insects, 

 worms and molluscs, but also on small birds and mammals. 

 From the habit which these birds have of impaling their prey 

 upon sharp thorns before eating it, they are commonly known as 

 butcher birds, and the generic name Lauius applied to them 

 also means a butcher. The Eufous Backed and Hardwicke's 

 Shrike, in the present collection, belong to the type genus Lanius, 

 and are more nearly allied to the Red backed Shrike of Eng- 

 land than to the Great Northern or Loggerhead Shrikes of 

 Canada. 



The last sub-order of the perching birds is that of the Coni- 

 rostres, which feed to a large extent on fruit and seeds. .The 

 large sub-family of the Starlings is more largely represented in 

 America than in any other part of the world. The Meadow 

 Larks, Grakles, and all the Orioles of tropical America, as well 

 as the Crow Blackbird and Hed-Winged Starling, are members of 

 this family. The Mina bird of India is the only specimen of 

 this group in the present collection. A well-known East Indian 

 naturalist thus writes : " The Minas are among the commonest 

 birds in India, Assam and Burmah, where they frequent the 

 neighbourhood of towns and villages in preference to more 

 wooded districts. A tree is usually selected as their sleeping 

 place; and from this point they fly over the country in small 

 parties in search of food, stealing occasionally even into the huts 

 of the natives, in order to obtain cooked rice, of which they are 

 very fond; some follow the flocks and herds, and seize the 

 grasshoppers as they rise from the grass when disturbed by the 

 cattle, others seek subsistence by plundering the gardens and 

 orchards in their vicinity. When upon the ground the Mina 

 walks with ease, constantly bowing its head as it goes, and occa- 

 sionally springing to a considerable distance ; its flight is heav}', 

 direct, and tolerably rapid, and its notes rich and varied. So 

 little fear is exhibited by these birds, that they build almost 

 exclusively in the vicinity of houses, or even in temporary cages 

 that are hung out for their accommodation. In Mosuri, where 

 this species is only a summer visitor, it usually prefers making- 

 its nest within a hollow tree. Like the common Starling, it 



