LANIID.E — LANIIN.E : SHRIKES. 



369 



western Mexico; comniou. Eggs uutlistiuguishable from those of belli, and nesting the 

 same. 



V. atricapil'lus. (Lat. ater, bhick ; capUhis, hair.) Black-capped Greexlet. ^ : Top 

 and side of head bhtck, excepting a white eye-ring and white loral stripe. Upper parts oliva- 

 ceous ; lower parts white, tinged witli pale greenish on sides and flanks. Wings and tail 

 blackish, edged with olivaceous, the former with two dingy whitish bars across ends of greater 

 and median coverts; lining of wings yellowish. Bill black ; feet dark; iris red. Length 4.75; 

 extent 7.2.5; wing 2.25; tail nearly 2.00; bill 0.50; tarsus 0.75; middle toe and claw 0.50 ; 

 1st primary exposed 0.66. 9 '• Black of head replaced by dark slate color; upper parts duller 

 olive, lower somewhat huffy. The black cap of the $ renders the species conspicuous among 

 all its congeners. Kansas to Texas and Mexico. Nest in small trees or bushes, near the 

 ground, pensile from a forked twig as usual in the genus, but eggs white, unmarked ; 0.65- 

 0.75 X 0.50-0.55; usually 4 in number. 



Family LANIID^ 



Essentially characterized by the combination of 

 comparatively weak, strictly passerine feet with a 

 notched, toothed, and hooked bill, the size, shape, and 

 strength of which recalls that of a bird of prey (fig. 

 231). The family comprises about 200 recorded spe- 

 cies, referable to numerous genera and divisible into 

 tliree groups, not very well defined, however, of which 

 the following typical subfamily is the only one occur- 

 ring in America : — 



Shrikes. 



Shrikes' Bills, nat. size. (From Baird.) 



Subfamily LANIIN>E: True Shrikes. 



In this group the wing has 10 primaries and the tail 12 rectrices ; both are much rounded 

 and of nearly equal lengtlis. Tlie rictus is furnished with strong bristles. The circular nostrils 



are more or less perfectly covered and con- 

 cealed by dense tufts of antrorse bristly 

 feathers. The tarsi are scutellate in front 

 and outside — in the latter respect devi- 

 ating from a usual Oscine character. Our 

 Shrikes will thus be easily distinguished ; 

 additional features are given under head 

 I of the genus Lanius, the only representa- 



FiG. 232. — Butcher-bird, reduced. (From Temiey, after tive of this group in America. 



^'''*°") Shrikes are bold, spirited birds, quar- 



relsome among tlioinselves, and tyrannical toward weaker species ; in fact, their nature seems 

 as liighly rapacious as that of the true l)irds of prey. They are carnivorous, feeding on insects 

 and such small birds and quadrupeds as tliey can capture and overpower; many instances have 

 been noted of tlieir dashing attacks upon cage-birds, and their reckless pursuit of otlier species 

 under circumstances that cost them their own lives. But the most remarkable fact in the 

 natural history of Shrikes is their habit of impaling their prey on thorns or sharp twigs. 

 They build a rather rude and bulky nest of twigs, and lay 4-6 speckled eggs. They are not 

 strictly migratory, althougli our northernmost species usually retires southward in the fall. 

 The sexes are alike, and the young differ but little. There are only two well-determined 

 American species. 



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