HAWKS IN MINIATURE 49 



I am disposed to regard such cases as the ex- 

 ceptions which prove the rule that the food of, at any 

 rate, the smaller species of shrike, consists mainly of 

 insects. This would explain why so few shrikes' 

 " larders " are discovered in India. Every popular 

 book on natural history describes how the butcher-bird, 

 having killed his victim, impales it upon a thorn, and 

 leaves it there to grow tender preparatory to devouring 

 it. I have not been lucky enough to come across one 

 of these larders. Other naturalists have been more 

 fortunate, and we may take it as an established fact 

 that even the smaller Indian species of butcher-birds 

 sometimes impale their victims on thorns. The 

 existence of such larders is easily accounted for. When 

 the little butcher captures a victim so large that it 

 has to be torn to pieces before consumption, he has 

 to find some method of fixing it while tearing it up. 

 He is not heavy enough to pin it to the ground with his 

 talons, as a raptorial bird does, so must perforce utilise 

 the fork of a tree or a large thorn. Having taken his 

 fill, he flies away, leaving the remains of his dinner 

 impaled on the thorn, where it is discovered by some 

 enterprising ornithologist. 



Fifteen species of Lanius are described as existing 

 in India. Of these the three most commonly seen are 

 the rufous-backed, the bay-backed, and the grey 

 species. 



The rufous-backed shrike (Lanius erythronotus) is the 

 only butcher-bird that is abundant on the Bombay 

 side. It is about the size of a bulbul. It sits bolt 

 upright, with tail pointing to the ground, and in this 



