122 



LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. 



622. Lanius ludovicianus. 9 inches. 



Pure white below and with the markings above, in- 

 tense black instead of the brownish or grayish black 

 of the last species. Although smaller, these Shrikes 

 have the same destructive habits of the northern 

 species. All the Shrikes do considerable good to man- 

 kind for they eat quantities of grasshoppers and mice, 

 and probably resort to their diet of small birds when 

 other food is unusually scarce. It cannot be denied 

 that they are cruel, for they often kill more than they 

 can eat and leave it impaled on thorns to decay. 



Song. Of harsh, discordant whistles. 



Nest. In scrubby hedges and thickets; of twigs, 

 weeds, leaves, etc.; eggs four to seven in number, 

 grayish white, spotted with shades of brown and gray. 



Range. Eastern U. S., breeding from the Gulf to 

 southern New England and Manitoba; winters in 

 southern states. 



Sub-species. 622a. White-rumped Shrike (excubi- 

 torides), paler and with a white rump; found from 

 the Plains to the Pacific in the U. S. 



