SHRIKES 471 



SO inclined as a rule. They impale their prey on sharp thorns, 

 twigs, nails of fences and similar projecting objects and the 

 same is done by their larger relative. Many times they never 

 return to eat the prey thus impaled, but sometimes they do 

 and seem to relish it as a rule when high flavored. Mice with 

 the brains eaten out I have quite often found impaled by this 

 species. 



They utter several cries and calls. The usual note is a harsh 

 "joree" and they also utter a harsh "y-e-a-a-a" of anger and 

 viciously snap their bills as they hop about in the vicinity of 

 their nest when it is being despoiled. Rarely indeed I have 

 heard the male utter a song much like that of the Catbird or 

 Brown Thrasher, but harsher and lower. 



The nest is placed on a horizontal limb in some roadside 

 tree or a tree or shrub along a hedgerow, less often in an apple 

 or other orchard tree. When a Shrike is seen perched on some 

 tree in late April or early May the nest can generally be found 

 not far away by careful searching. Always rather tame, both 

 birds are more so than usual when a nest is visited, coming 

 into the limbs two or three feet away from the intruder and 

 protesting vigorously. The nests are large and bulky, com- 

 posed of rootlets, twigs, twine, rags, feathers and grasses, lined 

 warmly with feathers and wool. One taken from a balsam iir 

 tree near Bangor, May 8, 1896, was placed in the three forks 

 of a limb sixteen feet from the ground. The nest is four inches 

 deep outside by two inside, and the diameter outside is seven 

 and inside three inches. It is warmly lined with hair, wool 

 and willow cotton. The eggs measure 0.96 x 0.70, 0.96 x 0.70, 

 0.96 X 0.70, 0.95 x 0.70, 0.95 x 0.70, 0.94 x 0.69. 



The eggs are quite variable, though of the same general 

 style. The ground color of some is white, others grayish or 

 greenish gray. Some are washed with obscure purplish, light 

 brown or olive markings all over, others in addition to this 

 washing are rather boldly wreathed with stronger blotches of 

 the same color about the larger ends, while again others, gen- 



