THE SHRIKE: AND THE KING ckow. 71 



rally a tooth, or notch, near the point of the upper 

 mandible. The division is a natural one on the 

 whole, or would be if we could get rid of certain 

 awkward birds which do not fit well into either sec- 

 tion ; the crows, for example, which eat everything 

 and have bills neither very stout nor thin. Jerdon 

 takes the Dentirostres first, and divides them into a 

 number of families, the Shrikes, Thrushes, Fly- 

 catchers, and so on. These appear to form a natural 

 flight of steps which has only been spoiled by recent 

 attempts to improve it. 



The Shrike stands at the head, as it should. They 

 say that its palate is a^githognathous and its deep 

 plantar tendons are passerine, and, if this is true, the 

 fact must be respected ; but I cannot help feeling that 

 it is a pity, for, if the Shrike only had a desmogna- 

 thous palate and a different set of tendons, it would 

 be a miniature hawk, which is manifestly what 

 Nature meant it for. Its strong, hooked and toothed 

 bill, and its sharp talons are, in proportion to its size, 

 as powerful weapons as those of a Harrier or Buz- 

 zard, and it is a bolder and fiercer marauder than 

 either of those. Its manner of life is the same as 

 that of a Buzzard. It sits upright on the top of a 

 bush, or low tree, commanding a good expanse of 

 open, grassy land, and watches for anything which it 

 may be able to surprise and murder, a large grass- 

 hopper, a small lizard, or a creeping field mouse. 

 Sometimes it sees a possible chance in a flock of 

 little birds absorbed in searching for grass seeds. 

 Then it slips from its watch tower and, gliding softly 

 down, pops into the midst of them without warning, 

 and, forgetting all about the true nature of its deep 



