Coues] 112 [October 7, 



Fain. 12. — AmpeliDjE. 



74. Ampelis cedroruni. Cedar Bird. Ros. ; but most numerous 

 in win., from Nov. to Mcli., during whicli months it is exceedingly 

 abundant at times and in certain places, in large, straggling, erratic 

 flocks. I have seen it in flocks through May. 



Fam. 13. — Laniid^. 



75. *Collurio ludovlclanus. Loggerhead Shrike. Res.; ah., partic- 

 ularly in the lower parts of the State. A species highly characteristic 

 of the South Atlantic and Gulf States, being only known from North 

 Carolina to Louisiana (in the Gulf States only in winter, according to 

 Audubon), and also being rarely, if ever, found in mountainous dis- 

 tricts. 



Audubon says (Orn. Biog. I, p. 301) : "I have never seen it attack 

 birds, nor stick its prey on thorns, in the manner of the Great Ameri- 

 can Shrike." Against this negative evidence I can bear positive 

 testimony, so far as the latter part of the stateraent is concei-ned. 

 At Columbia, where the Loggerhead is a very common bird, frequent- 

 ing the weedy streets and waste fields of the city, I have observed it 

 on numerous occasions, and once witnessed the following: a Logger- 

 head was busily foraging for insects in the Capitol yard; from its 

 observatory on the top of a tall bush, it pounced upon a large grass- 

 hopper and carried it to a tree near by, which was full of small, sharp 

 twigs. Firmlj'^ planting itself upon one of these, with the insect in its 

 beak, the bird tlu-ust the grasshopper upon a twig, pushing the latter 

 quite through the insect's body by repeated forcible movements. 

 After the grasshopper had been transfixed to the bird's satisfaction, 

 the latter hopped to another part of the tree, where it remained for 

 some minutes, apparently enjoying the writhlngs of the impaled in- 

 sect, or at least waiting to make sure that it was firmly secured. 

 This being evidently the case, the bird at length flew oiF, resumed its 

 former station, and commenced to hunt for more grasshoppers. 

 Within the next few minutes I saw it capture several more, all of 

 ■which It ate upon the spot. 



I have not seen any satisfactory explanation of this strange habit 

 of the Shrikes; nor am T prepared to offer any. Writers have 

 drawn lai-gely upon their imagination in treating of the trait. The 

 facts at our command are conflicting, and do not furnish the basis for 

 any verj' consistent theory as to the why or wherefore, or, particularly, 

 the cui bono of such proceedings on the part of the bird. The com- 



