Land Birds of New England 



FAMILY LANIID^B. 



39. NORTHERN SHRIKE ; BUTCHERBIRD 



(Lanius borealis.) 



Upper parts clear gray, growing lighter on rump ; wings and tail 

 dark brown with white markings ; under parts light gray, crossed 

 by fine wavy lines of dark brown ; side of head with dark bar 

 below and behind the eye. Beak large, strong, and hooked, 

 horn-color ; feet black. Bird a little larger than a robin. Sexes 

 similar, save that in the female the gray has a^more or less 

 brownish tinge. 



THE butcherbird comes to us as a very irregu- 

 lar but rather common winter visitor, and may be 

 looked for any time between the first of November 

 and the first of April. He may be found in any 

 locality, perched usually on some point which gives 

 him a good outlook, such as a telegraph pole or the 

 top of a hedge. He owes his name to his habit of 

 chasing and killing small birds, which he ordinarily 

 impales on thorns or sharp twigs, and which he usu- 

 ally, though by no means always, returns to devour. 



Breeding takes place only beyond the northern 

 limits of New England, and the nest is built in a 

 bush or a low tree. 



The bird with us is ordinarily silent ; but Thomp- 

 son remarks that " 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," and 

 Brewster likens his music to that of the thrasher. 



LITERATURE: 



Locusts and Wild Honey, (Art, "Birds and Birds.") BURROUGHS. 



