THE SHRIKE, OR BUTCHER-BIRD. 



E have a warm place in our 

 hearts for the shrike. He is 

 not so cruel as most people 

 suppose. He is very beautiful 

 in shape and color. At first glance, 

 one might take him for the mocker. 

 But you can easily see the difference. The throat 

 of the shrike and the tips of all his tail-feathers 

 are white. A dark stripe runs from the corners of 

 his mouth through the eye and back on the neck. 

 This stripe is called a "black bridle." 



It is not a noisy bird, though it is known to 

 scream harshly, once in a while. But it has an 

 occasional sweet song. It is not seen often in our 

 gardens. It seems to know that it is dreaded by 

 other birds, and ordinarily 

 keeps well away from them. 

 They have little need to be 

 so afraid of him, for he is 

 not the butcher they take 

 him for. To be sure, he 

 does eat up a little bird, 



141 



REFERENCE TOPICS. 



How cats catch their 

 prey. 



Merciful killing of ani- 

 mals for food. 



Animals that lay. up 

 stores for future use. 



Insecticides. 



