NORTHERN SHRIKE 119 



at its head many times in succession, actually driving it backward several feet 

 although the Shrike faced its attacks with admirable steadiness and coolness 

 and by a succession of vigorous and well aimed blows prevented the Mouse 

 from closing in. 



At length the Mouse seemed to lose heart and, turning, tried to escape. This 

 sealed its fate for at the end of the second leap it was overtaken by the Shrike, 

 who caught it by the back of the neck and began to worry it precisely as a Ter- 

 rier worries a Rat, shaking it viciously from side to side, at the same time 

 dragging it about over the snow which, as I could plainly see through my glass 

 (I was standing within ten yards of the spot) was now freely stained with 

 blood. I could also see the Shrike's mandible work with a vigorous, biting mo- 

 tion, especially when it stopped the shaking to rest for a moment. When it 

 finally let go its hold, the Mouse was evidently dead. 



After the shrike had carried off the mouse in its claws, partly eaten 

 it and hung it in a fork, Mr, Brewster examined the mouse. 



The Shrike had not touched any part of the body but the skin had been torn 

 away from the entire neck and the muscles and other soft tissues were almost 

 entirely gone from the shoulders and sternum to the base of the skull. The body 

 was untouched and the skull showed no signs of injury, but the cheek muscles 

 had been eaten pretty cleanly away as had also the entire throat with the tongue. 

 Both eyes were whole and in their sockets. This examination confirmed the 

 conviction which I formed while watching the Shrike and Mouse struggling 

 together, viz. that the bird killed the Mouse partly by throttliny — that is by 

 choking and shaking it and partly (perhaps chiefly) by cutting open its neck 

 on one side. No attempt was made to stun the Mouse by striking at its skull, 

 such blows as I saw delivered being evidently intended merely to keep the 

 Mouse at bay until the Shrike could close with it and get it by the neck as it 

 finally did. 



Mr. Brewster's close observation and careful description shows what 

 is perhaps the shrike's usual method of killing rodents, and I can 

 find very little evidence to the contrary, but Mr. Forbush (1929) says 

 that John Muir "saw a shrike go down into a gopher hole and drive 

 out half a dozen young gophers, and hovering over one after another 

 as they ran, it killed them all by blows delivered from its powerful 

 bill on the back of each one's head." 



Dr. W. S. Strode (1889) tells the following story of a mouse-hunt- 

 ing shrike : 



Not long since a young farmer invited me out to his field near town where he 

 was husking shock corn, to see a "Mouse Hawk," as he called it, catch mice. 

 On coming to where he was at work I looked about for the Shrike but did not 

 see it until he pointed to a tree two hundred yards away where it sat on the 

 topmost twig. Pretty soon a mouse ran from the shock, when it came almost 

 with the rapidity of an arrow, and seizing the mouse in its bill flew away with 

 it to the woods across the river, but in a short time it was back again at its 

 perch on the tree where it did not remain long until another mouse ran out 

 from the shock. In order to test the bird's boldness I pursued this mouse, but un- 

 daunted it flew almost between my feet and secured it, and apparently not lik- 

 ing its hold it alighted a few rods away and hammered the mouse on the frozen 

 ground, and then tossing it in the air caught it by the throat as it came down. He 

 then again flew off to the woods. This proceeding the farmer assured me would 



