84 THE BIOLOGY OF HARDING COUNTY 



Though we wonder about the strange and varied nesting 

 instincts of the swallows, their most wonderful trait is their 

 remarkable powers of flight. They circle about with such 

 rapidity as to almost defy efforts to continually follow with 

 the eye their movements. 



"No bird is better loved by the average country dweller. With 

 absolutely no bad habits, believed to subsist entirely upon 

 winged insects (mosquitoes, flies, etc.) and always graceful, 

 beautiful and musical, this bird has few rivals in the affections 

 of the real nature lover." 



Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia). One small colony is established 

 on the North Fork of the Grand River. 



Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula). A large flock is re- 

 ported to have spent several days in the Short Pine Hills 

 during February, 1910, and to have been conspicuous through- 

 out the winter of 1910-11. 



Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), A common summer 

 resident in the pine-forested parts of the buttes. 



White-rumped Shrike (Lanins ludovicianils excubitorides) . Abund- 

 ant summer resident of the plains". Nests in the scattered trees 

 which occur along the intermittent creeks. 



The Shrike is a peculiar bird. Though it is far less 

 abundant in numbers than many other of our birds it is 

 noticed very frequently because of certain of its traits. It 

 spends much of the day sitting on telephone and fence wires 

 where the big head and tail are held in odd positions. When 

 persons pass along the road the shrike flies slowly by rapid 

 beating of small wings, off on a level until near the next 

 landing place when it swoops almost to the ground and as it 

 alights it sails nearly vertically. This position is very fa- 

 vorable for the display of its distinctive color pattern sug- 

 gesting a crazy quilt of black and white. 



This shrike, often called summer butcher-bird, is con- 

 sidered decidedly beneficial. The greater part of its food 

 consists of large insects of which it cometimes kills more 

 than it eats, leaving the rest empaled on the barbs of fences. 

 Mice are frequently eaten. Our shrikes nest about tree 

 claims and other clumps of trees. The nest is a bulky affair 

 of small twigs. 



