Drummond Vole 529 



and most who find it do not wish to read it, I reproduce a part : 

 "One of their greatest enemies in this vicinity [West North- 

 field, 111.] is the northern shrike, or butcher-bird {Lanius 

 boreahs), the food of which consists almost wholly of arvicola 

 and a few Prairie White-footed Alice {Mus bairdii), during 

 his sojourn with us, in his spring and fall migrations. This 

 bird takes his stand, day after day, upon the same tree or 

 fence-stake, and from this post surveys the surrounding fields, 

 in which no Mouse may now show himself with safety. The 

 result of the shrike's watchfulness and prowess may be seen, 

 in part, in the bodies of the numerous Mice, fastened in the 

 branches of bushes or on fences, sometimes partly eaten, some- 

 times having only the brains taken out, but oftener entire. 

 Considering what he has devoured, besides these, the large 

 numbers destroyed by the shrike may be readily supposed. 

 The Southern shrike {Lanius ludovicianus), which breeds 

 largely in the prairie districts throughout this State, is also an 

 enemy to be dreaded by the Meadow-mice. Though feeding 

 more upon insects than its larger cousin, and being, perhaps, a 

 less successful mouser, its destruction of arvtcolce in summer is 

 well known, and has gained for it the name of 'mouse-bird' 

 in central Illinois. This bird not only pounces upon them 

 when they are moving about, but finds the nests on the surface, 

 and digs out the inmates with its bill and claws. A domesti- 

 cated brown sandhill crane {Grus canadensis), which I kept 

 for several years, spent much time in hunting about the fields 

 for the nests of Meadow-mice. He became expert in finding 

 them, and when they were situated upon or near the surface 

 he would dig them out with his long and powerful beak, and 

 after first killing all the inmates, proceed to swallow them 

 whole, with much apparent relish. In spring I have seen him 

 thus destroy several families of old and young arvicolcu in a day. 

 Cranes are carnivorous, and large feeders, and if all are as 

 good mouse-catchers as my pet, they must destroy great quan- 

 tities on the prairie. The owls also devour them to some 

 extent, in the timber especially; while the short-eared owl 

 {Brachyotus cassinii of Brewer), which is strictly a prairie 



