Chap. 3. 



BIRDS OF VERMONT. 



75 



THE BUTCHER BIRD. 



THE KING BIRD. 



THE BUTCHER BIRD. 



Lanius horealis. — Vieillot. 



Description. — Color above pale ciner- 

 eous, becomin£r nearly white towards the 

 tail; wings and tail brownish black, with 

 a black bar extending from the nostril 

 through the eye to t!)e neck ; beneatli 

 white, beautifully waved with pale brown; 

 outer feathers of the tail partly white and 

 a whitish spot on the wings just below 

 their coverts ; legs and feet black ; bill 

 and claws bluish black. Tail rounded, 

 extending 3 inches beyond the folded 

 wings ; third primary longest. Length 

 of the specimen before me 10 inches, 

 spread 13. 



History. — The Butcher-Bird, or, as he 

 is, perhaps, more generally called, the 

 Great Northern Shrike, though frequently 

 seen in Vermont, is not very common. 

 The specimen from which the above de- 

 scription and figure were made, was shot 

 in Burlington in Rlay, 1842. Dr. Rich- 

 ardson says that this bird is common in 

 the woody districts of the fur countries 

 as far north as the GOth parallel of latitude. 

 Many of them migrate to the south in the 

 fall, but some remain in the fur countries 

 through the winter. Its nest is built in 

 the fork of a tree, of grass and moss, and 

 lined with feathers. The eggs, 5 or 6 in 

 number, are of a pale bluish gray, spotted 

 at the large end with dark yellowish 

 brown. Like the king bird it attacks ea- 

 gles, hawks and crows, and drives them 

 from the neisrhborhood of its nest. 



Genus Muscicapa. — Linnccus. 



Generic Characters. — Bill medium siz- 

 ed, ratlier slout, angular, considerably widened 

 and flattened towards the base, which is guarded 

 by loiigish bristles ; upper mandible nolciied tow- 

 ards the end and bent at the tip ; nostrils bafal, 

 lateral and ovoid, partly hid by hairs ; tarsus llie 

 same length as the middle loe or a little longer; 

 inner toe free, or scaicely united at the base ; hind 

 nail more curved than the rest, and larger than 

 that of the middle toe ; wings long and snmewhat 

 sharp; first quill very sliurt, the second shorter 

 than the third and fourth, which are longest. 



THE KING BIRD. 



Miiscicapa tyraiinus. — Brisson. 



Description. — Color of the head when 

 the feathers are smooth, shining velvet 

 black, but when the feathers are ruffled a 

 spot of bright ochrey yellow appears oa 

 tlie crown ; back brownish black ; wings 

 very dark, hair brown, tlie secondaries 

 and wing coverts edged with gray; tail 

 even, ])itch black, tipped with white, and 

 extending far beyond the wings; breast 

 light ash ; belly white ; bill, lefs and 

 feet black ; bill wide at'the base gradually 

 narrowing to the tip ; upper mandible 

 with convex sides, meeting in an obtuse 

 ridge and hooked at the point ; short, stiff 

 bristles at the angle of the mouth ; second 

 quill longest. Length 8 inches, spread of 

 the wings 14. 



HisTORv. — The King Bird, or Tyrant 

 Fly-catcher, as he is sometimes called, 

 spends the winter at the south, beyond the 

 limits of the United States. Early in the 

 spring he proceeds to the north and dur- 

 ing the summer is found rearing its young 

 in all parts of the United States, and, ac- 

 cording to Richardson, as far north as 

 the .57th parallel of latitude. It arrives 

 in Vermont in the early part of May, and 

 in the summer is common in all parts of 

 the state. Its nest is built in the tops of 

 orchard and forest trees, at various 

 heights from the ground, and is composed 

 of coarse dry grass, weeds and loose pieces 

 of bark, compactly connected and bedded 

 with down, tow and woolly substan- 

 ces, and lined with fine fibrous roots, 

 grass, and hair. The eggs are from 3 to .5, 

 of a bluish white color, marked with 

 spots of deep bright brown. The same 

 pair frequently lears two broods in a sea- 

 son. The food of the king bird consists 

 almost entirely of insects, such as bee- 

 tles, crickets, grasshoppers and various 

 kinds of flies and catterpillars, and the 

 only harm, which he is accused of doing, 

 is that of catching a few honey bees as 

 they are gathering honey from the flow- 



