Sbrihe^motes 



yaupon-tree, out flew a shrike, and made 

 a dash at it, but missed it. Then began 

 a fine exhibition of aerial gymnastics, bird 

 and butterfly tumbling about, at first so 

 rapidly that I could scarcely keep an eye 

 on them. In the end, however, the in- 

 evitable death came. One of the shrike's 

 feet gripped the insect with an upward 

 stroke, while the bird was flying back- 

 downward and under its shining prey! I 

 have seen a hawk at twilight catch a bat 

 by precisely the same manceuver. 



Shrikes were building their nests in 

 the yaupon-trees as early as the 9th of 

 March. I tried to find out whether or 

 not they ever carried the sticks for their 

 nests in their claws ; but they were refrac- 

 tory : not a touch of work would they do 

 while I was spying on them. Indeed, 

 even in my absence the building that I had 

 under special observation went on very 

 slowly. For two or three days together 

 no appreciable progress was made, and on 

 the 22d of March it was scarcely half 

 completed, only the wide, loose foundation 

 having been laid in the thorny crotch. 

 134 



