SHRIKES 393 



contrasted, washed with brown and narrowly barred, the wing coverts 

 tipped with buffy. Length: 8-10, wing 3.75-4.10, tail 3.75-4.30, bill from 

 nostril .42-.50, depth of bill at base .30-.35. 



Distribution. Breeds from British Columbia and Hudson Bay south to 

 Lower California and over the northern tablelands of Mexico. 



Nest. In thorn-trees, hedges, briers, and cactus ; bulky, made of sticks 

 and stems, leaves, wool, and feathers; lined with stems of grass and 

 weeds, and sometimes hairs. Eggs: 4 to 6, grayish to yellowish white, 

 spotted with brown and lilac. 



Food. Mice, birds, and insects chiefly grasshoppers. 



A shrike may be recognized as far as seen by his level flight, the 

 beating of his short little wings, and the way he holds up his big 

 head ; and when he alights his clear grays and sharply contrasting 

 blacks and whites mark him afar. He is partial to Sarcobatus flats, 

 hedges, thorny bushes, and barbed wire fences, even when not using 

 the barbs as letter files for his superfluous catch of grasshoppers. In 

 spite of all accusations the shrike probably impales his victims less 

 because of original sin than because of original scarcity of supplies, 

 and only a short time ago he was seen by a California observer re- 

 turning to his catch and eating it with marked relish. (The Condor, 

 iv. 49.) Nor is he such a villain as to be wanting in sound domestic 

 virtues, and harsh and strident as his voice may be in the main, it 

 has interesting if not musical moments. 



622b. L. 1. gambeli Eidgw. CALIFORNIA SHRIKE. 



Upper parts slate gray, tinged with brownish ; upper tail coverts some- 

 times abruptly whitish as in excubitorides ; under parts dull white or gray- 

 ish, darker on sides, breast usually distinctly vermiculated and sometimes 

 ting-ed with pale brown. Length : 8-10, wing 3.70-4.00, tail 3.75-4.50, bill 

 from nostril .43-.4S, depth at base .30-35. 



Remarks. The California shrike may be distinguished from the white- 

 rumped by the darker coloration of the under parts. In excubitorides they 

 are pure white, in gambeli usually vermiculated, darkened on the sides and 

 sometimes tinged with pale brown. 



Distribution. Coast region of California. 



Nest. 5 to 30 feet from the ground in willows, cypress, or oak ; bulky, 

 made of coarse twigs and soft materials such as straw, grass, feathers, 

 cotton, and wool. Eggs : 4 to 7, gray, sometimes tinged with green, spotted 

 with light brown and sometimes purple, usually heaviest around the larger 

 end. 



Mr. Grinnell says that the California shrike is such a persistent 

 destroyer of the Jerusalem cricket and other injurious insects that 

 it is undoubtedly one of our most beneficial birds from the agricul- 

 turalist's standpoint and should be protected. 



622c. L. 1. anthonyi Mearns. ISLAND SHRIKE. 



Similar to gambeli, but much darker and smaller ; under parts gray, be- 

 coming white on throat and under tail coverts ; upper parts dark slate gray ; 

 white areas on wings and tail more restricted than in any of the ludovi- 

 cianus group. Length : 8.77, wing 3.74, tail 4.00, bill .63. 



Distribution. Santa Barbara Islands, California. 



