JULY. 185 



Taking advantage of the bird's absence, I pointed a 

 number of twigs of the .quince bush, and offered many 

 more bits of beef than the bird could eat, but none were 

 gathered and impaled, as this bird when in .health gathers 

 and impales much of its prey. This was not because the 

 disabled bird was unable to do so, as care was taken to 

 have a series of available thorn-like points within easy 

 reach of his accustomed resting-place. It is a little pecul- 

 iar that although there are one or more shrikes on the 

 hill-side, and others along the creek, every winter, yet 

 almost never do they indulge in this habit of impaling 

 their prey. Is it because food is always abundant ? 



The monotonous life of my garden shrike came to a 

 tragical ending. It was a beautifully cool, crisp February 

 morning, with every weed in the garden sparkling with 

 feathery frost. All our winter birds were astir and sing- 

 ing merrily. Up from the hill-side came a pair of cardi- 

 nals, and they, too, whistled their best tunes in the garden. 

 "While seed-hunting, suddenly these restless redbirds came 

 upon the half-hidden shrike. With a loud chirping that 

 brought a robin and several grakles to the spot, they com- 

 menced an attack upon the unfortunate creature. Get 

 out of the quince bush he must, whistled the redbirds, 

 yet no one dared to make a direct assault. Finally the 

 robin madly dashed at him, and started the persecuted 

 shrike from his perch. A little half -helpless tumble, and 

 he was on his wings, and, regardless of all the others, pur- 

 sued one of the officious cardinals. Away it flew, scream- 

 ing, over the hill-side, into a thicket of smilax, followed 

 closely by the shrike. Whether the latter was actually in 

 pursuit or not could not be determined, although I fol- 

 lowed as best I could. In the thicket I lost the birds, 

 and quiet reigned in the garden, as well as on the hill- 

 side ; so the birds had apparently gone far off over the 

 meadows. But it proved otherwise ; as, later in the day, 



