162 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 



on the rump. Below, white, very finely waved with black (often 

 almost imperceptibly). Edging of crown, eye- ring and mid- 

 dle of the forehead, white. Rest of forehead, continuously 

 with broad stripes through the eye, black. Wings and tail 

 black, with white markings. 



Fig. 7. Butcher-bird (). 



(5). The nest is placed in the woods, in the fork of a bush, 

 not far from the ground. It is composed of leaves, grasses, 

 and roots, is often lined with feathers, and is finished early in 

 the season. One set of eggs contains from four to six, aver- 

 aging I-IOX'80 of an inch. A specimen before me is blotched 

 and spotted, most thickly about the crown, with faint lilac, and 

 light sandy and yellowish brown ; others are darker. 



(c). The shrikes possess the cruelty of the hawks, but not 

 the stateliness of some, nor the gracefulness of others. Neither 

 do they possess the charms of many passerine birds, for they 

 are wild, and, moreover, incapable of uttering musical sounds. 

 Yet, there is attached to them that interest, which is naturally 

 attached to birds who differ so distinctly from others, and 

 about whom much is yet to be learned. 



The Great Northern Shrikes, or the well-known " Butcher- 

 birds," are virtually the sole representatives of their family in 

 New England. They breed in the forests of Northern Maine, 

 but in other parts occur principally as winter-visitants, re- 



