7D 



Attentions of the male. 



carefully performs the task of incubation ; while 

 the male serenades her every morning and even- 

 ing, and like the nightingale, not uncommonly all 

 the night through. He sings out in a loud tone 

 for more than a minute, and after an interval 

 begins anew. During his song the bird is so re- 

 gardless of his own safety, that any one may ap- 

 proach very near; but at other times he is very 

 suspicious, and takes flight at the slightest alarm. 

 Should the male be killed, the female may also 

 be shot without difficulty : for her attachment to 

 him is so great, that she continues flying round 

 with the most plaintive voice; and, often passing 

 within a few yards of the gunner. But if the 

 female happen to be shot first, the affection of 

 her mate does not prove so romantic ; for, retir- 

 ing to the top of some distant tree, he is not 

 easily approached : he does not, however, cease 

 to sing, but becomes so wary as to fly entirely 

 away from that neighbourhood on the slightest 

 alarm. 



THE BUTCHER-BIRD. 



THIS bird, sometimes called the great shrike, 

 is a native both of Europe and America. It 

 is somewhat larger than a starling; it has a 

 strong black bill near an inch long, and hooked 

 at the end; which, together with its carnivorous 

 appetites, give it a claim to rank among the car- 



