SI 1 1C 1 1 



FAMILY LANIID*:. SHRIKXB. 



The Shrike-.. nuniU'ring aU.iit two hunilml specie*, are largely 

 confined to the Old \Voriil. Only two species are found in America, 

 Ulh meinUTs nf tin- subfamily / nnnmr or true Shrikes. Their char- 

 acteristic habits art* desi -riln-d under their respective names. 



621. Lanius borealis I'-V/V.'. N--HTIIKHN SHKIKK; HIT II.K-BIKI>. 

 Ad. rpj*T part* gray ; wing* and tail black ; primaries white at the ba*c, 

 ^...ii-lurii- tipjcd with white or grayish ; miter, sometime* all, the tail- 

 fc:ithcr tip|>cd with white, the outi-r feather m-*tly white ; forehead tckittth ; 

 lores yrayUk black ; ear-covert* black ; under parts white, generally fine!/ 

 barred with black; bill hooked nd hawklike. Im. Similar, but entire 

 plumage inoro or less heavily barred or washed with grayiidi brown. I.., 

 10-32; NV . i . M. from N 



Kange. Bn-t-tls in the interior in the fur north i FTt Ander^m, MacFar- 

 lunei. nnd mi^ruUi* bouthwurtl in winter us fur ax Kansas and Virginia. 



.inirton, rare and irregular w - V., Nov. to Feb. Sine Sing, tolerably 

 common \V. V., (let 26 to A pi. 17. Cambridge, common \V. V., Nov. 1 to 

 Apl. 1. 



j\iwrf, of twigs, graMK.it, t.-.. in low trees or bushes. Eggr, similar in color 

 to those of L. ludoricianu*, 1-05 x -76. 



This bird may be known at once by his colors gray, black, and 

 white by the consternation his appearance causes among the Spar- 

 rows, and by his peculiar flight, which is steady and straightforward, 

 with much flapping, and close to the ground till he nears his in- 

 tended perch, which is reached at the last moment by a sudden up- 

 ward turn. 



lie is so well known as a bird of hawklike, sanguinary character 

 that most students are astonished when they find out that toward 

 springtime he develops into a vocalist of no mean powers. Often in 

 the warm days of March he may be heard singing on the top of some 

 tall tree, a song that would do credit to a Catbird indeed, it recalls 

 ^nuigly that loquacious songster. He is, I think, a better singer than 

 his southern cousin, but resembles him in habitually impaling his 

 pn-y nn a thorn, a fence barb, or a forked twijr. His f<xxl consists 

 chiefly of mice, noxious in-ects. and the equally noxious Knglish Spar- 

 row, so that the Shrike i> a bird worthy of all protection. 



KRXKST K. THOMPSON. 



622. Lanius ludovlcianus I. inn. LOOOIRIIEAD SHRIKE. (See 



Y\H. M.I . i / I pper purl* gray, wings and tail black, primaries white at 

 the bane, secondaries tipped with white ; outer, sometimes all, the tail- 

 feathem tipped with white; the outer feather mostly white; lores hl-ift, 

 connected by a narrow Matt line on the t<>reheu<l at the base of the hill; 

 ear-covcru black ; under parts white, sometime* tinged with gray. L., 9-00 ; 



