[488] BIRDS OF OREGON 



California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In Oregon: Regular winter visitor to 

 every county east of east base of Cascades. Irregular and rare west of that range. 



THE NORTHWESTERN SHRIKE is most at home along the willow-bordered 

 streams of eastern Oregon, where it sits on the topmost twig of some low 

 tree or perches motionless on a convenient telephone wire, its keen eyes 

 scanning the landscape for a luckless mouse or a venturesome small bird 

 that may stray too far from a safe shelter. Once in Antelope Canyon, in 

 southern Wasco County, we watched one of these shrikes pursue a Ruby- 

 crowned Kinglet for some time. The smaller bird was winging its way 

 from one juniper tree to a smaller, thicker one, when the shrike, appear- 

 ing from nowhere, swung into sight behind the intended victim. The 

 kinglet, putting on a frantic burst of speed, literally dove into the thick 

 juniper with the shrike so close behind that it all but crashed into the 

 tree. The terror-stricken kinglet hopped quickly to the other side of the 

 bush. Like a flash the shrike was around the tree to again strike viciously. 

 Several times the butcher bird swung around the tree to meet the frantic 

 moves of the smaller bird, which was wise enough to stay in the thickest 

 part of the top of the tree, until finally it gave up in disgust and flew away 

 to seek a less fortunate victim. 



Bendire (1877) published the first record for the State, from Camp 

 Harney, January 5, 1876, and Merrill (1888) found it at Fort Klamath 

 in the fall and winter. Prill (1895 a) found it at Sweet Home, Linn Coun- 

 ty, in winter. Woodcock (1902.), in addition to his own statement that 

 it was a rare winter visitant to Corvallis, listed a specimen taken at Ross 

 Island, January 3, 1898, by Herman T. Bohlman and gave Warner's com- 

 ment that it was a "winter resident found only in very stormy weather" 

 at Salem. Shelton (1917) considered it an irregular winter resident of 

 western Oregon, and Walker (192.4) recorded a specimen from Blaine, 

 October 31, 1919. Gabrielson (192^) recorded it from Wallowa County, 

 and we listed one skin and several sight records from Portland in our 

 Birds of the Portland Area (Jewett and Gabrielson 192.9). We have skins 

 also from the following points in western Oregon: Corvallis (December 

 2.3, 1913, Jewett Coll. No. 12.89), Salem (November 2.5, 192.8, Jewett Coll. 

 No. 5596), and Forest Grove (December zo, 1932., Gabrielson Coll. No. 

 1953). We have many specimens and sight records from widely scattered 

 points throughout eastern Oregon, where in some seasons it is one of the 

 common winter birds. It arrives in October (earliest date, September 9, 

 Crook County) and remains until March (latest date, April 9, Wallowa 

 County). 



California Shrike: 



Lanius ludovicianus gambeli Ridgway 



DESCRIPTION. Adults: Bill, lores and nasal tufts wholly black, upper parts slate gray 

 tinged with brownish, upper tail coverts sometimes abruptly whitish as in excubi- 



