MIGRANT SHRIKE 201 



The male is much devoted to the female during incu- 

 bation and the rearing of the young. Both birds are brave 

 and attack with vigor anyone disturbing their young, 

 while with the most eloquent pleading they seemingly beg 

 him to desist. On approaching a nest top closely I have 

 been struck on the hand by one of these birds ; and on one 

 occasion, the male actually lashed my hat when I captured 

 a young bird that had left the nest. All the time both birds 

 hovered over my head, uttering their peculiar, ' * quit, quit, 

 qua a-a ! ' ' protest. (Fig. 114. ) 



Shrikes may be seen, like the birds of prey, perched 

 in some conspicuous place while waiting for victims. 

 Unlike strictly insectivorous birds, they do not have to 

 migrate so early or so far south to keep within food 

 range, for they can capture the many seed-eating birds 

 that remain in the North. I have seen Shrikes in the 

 vicinity of Kansas City every month of the year. 



No slacker Cowbird dares to invade the premises of 

 these birds, as they are vigilant and fight an unwelcome 

 visitor to a finish. With its big head and hawk-like beak 

 the Shrike suggests power and destruction to all smaller 

 birds. There is nothing about its appearance to elicit 

 any of our bird sympathies or admiration. 



The Loggerhead Shrike rightly belongs to the south- 

 eastern states. However, many specimens have been se- 

 cured in the central part of the United States. The 

 lighter colored, or so-called ''Migrant" Shrike, is the 

 one most frequently found near Kansas City. It is a 

 solitary bird, rarely seen in pairs except during the nest- 

 ing season. 



One day, while standing under a thorn tree, I heard 

 a noise as though birds were discussing some family mat- 

 ter. On looking up, I saw two Shrikes sitting within two 

 inches of each other on a limb about five feet above me. 

 Then, looking still closer, I discovered that one was a 

 full-grown young bird and that the parent was doing 

 something that was of absorbing interest to the young- 

 ster, which repeatedly assumed an expectant and plead- 

 ing attitude. The parent bird, it seemed, was busily en- 

 gaged in the task of dislodging and re-impaling a full- 

 grown English Sparrow on a thorn. Ruthlessly it would 

 pull the dead bird on the thorn and in so doing tear a 



