THE BUTCHER BIRD. 



51 



pond with its conformation, as it is found to i 

 live as well upon flesh as upon insects, and 

 thus to partake, in some measure, of a double 

 nature. However, its appetite for flesh is the 

 most prevalent ; and it never takes up with 

 the former when it can obtain the latter. 

 This bird, therefore, leads a life of continual 

 combat and opposition. As from its size it 

 does not much terrify the smaller birds of the 

 forest, so it very frequently meets birds will- 

 ing to try its strength, and it never declines 

 the engagement. 



It is wonderful to see with what intrepidity 

 this little creature goes to war with a pie, the 

 crow, and the kestrel, all above four times 

 bigger than itself, and that sometimes prey 

 upon flesh in the same manner. It not only 

 fights upon the defensive, but often comes to 

 the attack, and always with advantage, par- 

 ticularly when the male and female unite to 

 protect their young, and to drive away the 

 more powerful birds of rapine. At that sea- 

 son, they do not wait the approach of their in- 

 vader ; it is sufficient that they see him pre- 

 paring for the assault at a distance. It is 

 then that they sally forth with loud cries, 

 wound him on every side, and drive him off 

 with such fury, that he seldom ventures to re- 

 turn to the charge. In these kinds of dis- 

 putes, they generally come off with the vic- 

 tory ; though it sometimes happens that they 

 fall to the ground with the bird they have so 

 fiercely fixed upon, and the combat ends with 

 the destruction of the assailant as well as the 

 defender. 



For this reason, the most redoubtable birds 

 of prey respect them ; while the kite, the buz- 

 zard, and the crow, seem rather to fear than 

 seek the engagement. Nothing in nature 

 better displays the respect paid to the claims 

 of courage than to see this little bird, appa- 

 rently so contemptible, fly in company with 

 the lanner, the falcon, and all the tyrants of 

 the air, without fearing their power, or avoid- 

 ing their resentment. 



As for small birds, they are its usual food. 

 It seizes them by the throat and strangles them 

 in an instant. When it has thus killed the 

 bird or insect, it is asserted by the best autho- 

 rity, that it fixes them upon some neighbour 

 ing thorn, and, when thus spitted, pulls them 

 to pieces with its bill. It is supposed, that 

 as Nature has not given this bird strength 

 sufficient to tear its prey to pieces with its 

 feet, as the hawks do, it is obliged to have re- 

 course to this extraordinary, expedient. 1 



1 The red-backed shrike or lesser butcher-bird is 

 about seven inches long. Its bill is black ; the head anc 

 lower part of the back, and coverts of the wings, are o: 

 a bright rusty red ; the breast, belly, and sides, are of a 

 fine pale rose or bloom-colour; the throat is white; a 

 stroke of black passes from the bill through each eye 



During summer, such of them as constantly 

 reside here, for the smaller red butcher-bird 

 migrates, remain among the mountainous parts 

 of the country : but in winter they descend 

 nto the plains, and nearer human habitations. 

 The larger kind make their nests on the 

 lighest trees, while the lesser build in bushes 

 in the fields and hedge-rows. They both lay 

 about six eggs, of a white colour, but encircled 

 at the bigger end with a ring of brownish 

 red. The nest on the outside is composed of 

 white moss, interwoven with long grass ; with- 

 in it is well lined with wool, and is usually 

 fixed among the forking branches of a tree. 

 The female feeds her young with caterpillars 

 and other insects while very young ; but soon 

 after accustoms them to flesh, which the male 

 procures with surprising industry. Their 

 nature also is very different from other birds 

 of prey in their parental care ; for, so far from 

 driving out their young from the nest to shift 

 for themselves, they keep them with care ; 

 and even when adult they do not forsake 

 them, but the whole brood live in one family 

 together. Each family lives apart, and is 

 generally composed of the male, female, and 

 five or six young ones ; these all maintain 

 peace and subordination among each other, 

 and hunt in concert. Upon the returning 

 season of courtship, this union is at an end, 

 the family parts for ever, each to establish a 

 little household of its own. It is easy to dis- 

 tinguish these birds at a distance, not only 

 from their going in companies, but also from 

 their manner of flying, which is always up 

 and down, seldom direct or side-ways. 



Of these birds there are three or four 

 different kinds ; but the greater ash-coloured 

 butcher-bird is the least known among us. 

 The red-backed butcher-bird migrates in 

 autumn, and does not return till spring. The 

 wood-chat resembles the former, except in the 

 colour of the back, which is brown, and not 

 red as in the other. There is still another, 

 less than either of the former, found in the 

 marshes near London. This too is a bird of 

 prey, although not much bigger than a tit- 

 mouse ; an evident proof that an animal's 

 courage or rapacity does not depend upon its 

 size. Of foreign birds of this kind there are 

 several ; but as we know little of their man- 

 ner of living we will not, instead of history, 



the two middle feathers of the tail are black, the others 

 are white at the base ; the quills are of a brown colour ; 

 and the legs are black. The female, like all other birds 

 of prey, is larger than the male ; it builds its nest in 

 hedges or low bushes, and lays six white eggs, marked 

 with a reddish-brown circle towards the larger end. 

 This bird preys on young birds, which it takes in the 

 nest; it likewise feeds on grasshoppers and beetles. It 

 inhabits Great Britain, and various other temperate 

 countries of Europe. 



