246 Twelve Months With 



killing plenty of birds, he eats only the brains, 

 but if hunger presses he will eat the whole bird. 

 By impaling the slaughtered birds upon thorns or 

 barbs, he keeps a larder well stocked with dainties 

 for his epicurean taste, to which he may resort 

 in any emergency. Despite his bloody habits, the 

 shrike is not properly a bird of prey. He has 

 passerine feet, like all our small birds, and is 

 unable to hold his prey in his claws while eating 

 it, which is his real reason for impaling it upon 

 thorns and barbs. 



This bird is easily identified by his colors. The 

 upper parts are gray, wings and tail black, marked 

 with white. He is also easily known by the con- 

 sternation caused by his appearance among a flock 

 of sparrows. His flight is also characteristic, being 

 steady and somewhat labored, with much flapping. 

 He flies close to the ground until he nears his 

 intended perch, when he turns suddenly upward 

 and alights somewhat like a flicker. 



Among other birds occasionally seen in winter 

 are the kinglets, the brown creeper and the cedar 

 waxwing, which we have elsewhere discussed. 



With the exception of the birds and a few small 

 animals, Nature closes up and goes indoors in 

 January, and no signs of her outdoor life remain. 

 Frogs bury themselves in mud and under leaf 

 mold, and millions of insects, grubs and other 

 small animals, stilled by the winter cold, are 

 buried in trees and logs and under the ground, 

 to be awakened in spring by the warm rays of 



