AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE. 39 



prey, whatever it was, suffered in this affair, for 

 in a moment they separated amicably, and each 

 returned to his station on the fence. These three 

 were babies ; their actions betrayed them ; for a 

 little later, when one of the elders flew from the 

 field to a low peach-tree, instantly there arose 

 the baby-cry " ya-a-a-a ! " and those three sedate 

 looking personages on the wire arose as one bird, 

 and flew to the tree, alighting almost on the 

 mother, so eager were they to be fed. In a 

 moment she flew to the fence, where all three fol- 

 lowed her. When she escaped from their im- 

 portunities she came much nearer to me, doubt- 

 less to see if I needed watching, and I had a 

 closer look than I had succeeded in getting be- 

 fore, and satisfied myself on a point or two of 

 marking. 



Up to this time my searching into the name 

 and identity of my little strangers in gray had 

 been in vain. But a direful suspicion was grow- 

 ing within me. That heavy black line from the 

 eye ! The strongly marked wings ! I turned 

 with dread to a family I had not thought of try- 

 ing — the shrikes. There were the markings, 

 too true ! But that delicate blue-gray was not 

 " slate color." Still, people see colors differently, 

 and in every other way the description was per- 

 fect. They must be — ray beautiful, graceful, 

 attractive strangers must be — butcher-birds ! 



