THE WARBLl 



235 



lish sparrow, a bird which perhaps has been useful in 

 Eastern cities in destroying canker-worms, bul is now a 

 general nuisance both in the city and the country. 

 Bong-sparrow I Melospiza fasciata) is widely distributed, and 

 everywhere commends itself by its pleasant notes. Quite 

 opposed iii it- habits is the butcher bird or shrike I I 

 a quarrelsome, rapacious bird, which feeds on in* 

 small mammals, often impaling them on thorns or -harp 

 twigs, and leaving them there. The group of rireos 



ulets (Fig. 276) are peculiar to America; their hill- are 

 hooked, with a notch al basi ; y are warblers. The 



870 Warbling Vireo. 



:'.'.. Carolina w .i\ 



wax wing (Ampelis cedrorum, Fig. 277) is the type of an 

 allied family. The swallows and martin- are interesting 

 from the change made in the nesting habits of the more 

 common species which rear their young in artificial i 

 or in barns, or under the eaves of buildings. 



Another group characteristic of North America is the 

 warblers, Dendrmca (D. vin <. Fig 278) being the repre- 

 sentative genus. On the other hand, the larks are an 

 World assemblage of birds, bul few - icurring a 



this country, while the wrens {V I) are mostly re- 



stricted to America, 



