THE BUTCHER-BIRD. 311 



not a hawk of any kind, he was certain dashed out of a copse at 

 hand, pounced upon one of the siskins, and bore it off and away 

 before his very eyes, ere he could do anything so sudden and un- 

 expected was the attack to prevent it ! Momentary as was his 

 glimpse of it, however, Mackenzie's quick and practised eye enabled 

 him to take in the marauder's predominant colouring, its shape and 

 size, and mode of flight ; and on describing these to us, we at once 

 exclaimed, a butcher-bird a shrike ! The description could 

 apply to no other British bird-killer that we could think of ; and 

 that we were right we have no more doubt than if we had the 

 culprit already in our cabinet. Mackenzie was in a rage. " You 

 are right, sir ; it must have been a butcher-bird, for now I recollect 

 having once seen a specimen in Ayrshire. I'm bound, however, to 

 lay salt on yon chap's tail before I am done with him ; and you, 

 sir, shall have him, dead or living. I swear it by all my illustrious 

 ancestors, the Mackenzies of Kintail ! " he exclaimed, with a melo- 

 dramatic air that was very amusing ; and shouldering his cages and 

 other paraphernalia of his craft, he departed with a touch of his 

 cap and a bow that showed that amongst birds he had learned good 

 manners and politeness to an extent that as a navvy or hired 

 labourer he would probably be all his lifetime very much a stranger. 

 He has not returned to us as yet, so we suppose he is still in 

 pursuit, detective-wise, of the shrike ; and it had better look out, 

 for Mackenzie is just the man to succeed sooner or later in laying 

 salt upon its tail, as threatened. The butcher-bird, or shrike, is 

 the Lanius excubitor of Linnaeus, an exceeding rare bird in the 

 "West Highlands in Scotland, indeed so rare that we never saw 

 a living bird of the order, only stuffed or otherwise preserved 

 cabinet specimens. It preys on small birds, mice, insects, &c., 

 Vhich it does not tear up from under its feet like the hawk tribe, 

 but fixes it on a thorn-prickle, or in the fork of a small branch, 

 and then tears it to pieces with its bill, which is very strong, and 



