74 



FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



chewing them gradually as he goes ; and you 

 do not know a butcher-bird till you have lighted 

 upon him at home in his woodland haunts, with 

 his living and writhing larder collected all round 

 him. 



In size, the butcher-bird (No. i) is about as large 

 as a lark ; but he is a stouter and handsomer 



bird, especially in his 

 fresh spring plum-, 

 age, when he goes 

 a-courting, and wins 

 his soberer bride by 

 the beauty of his 

 coat and the gallan- 

 try of his bearing. 

 His colouring is fine, 

 but somewhat diffi- 

 cult to describe, his 

 recognised specific 

 name of " the red- 

 backed shrike " being 

 perhaps too strong 

 for his actual hues. 

 Chestnut, shading into reddish brown above, would 

 be a more accurate mode of stating the facts ; but 

 he is pinky-white below, and has dashes of blue, of 

 grey, of pure white, and of black scattered about 

 in various parts of his plumage. A bright black 

 bill and a dark hazel eye add beauty to his sharp 

 and vigorous countenance. Alertness, indeed, is 

 the keynote of his character. 



As in most dominant races, his lady differs 



NO. I. THE BUTCHER-BIRD. 



