DISTRIBUTION OF LANIUS EXCUBITORIDES 565 



third was shot by Mr. W. W. Coe near Portland, Conn., in 

 November of 1876, as Mr. C. H. Merriam informs us in his 

 admirable treatise on the birds of Connecticut. Mr. Merriam 

 also refers to another individual seen near New Haven in May, 

 1873, and which "might have been this species". In his late 

 List of the birds of Massachusetts, by far the most authoritative 

 we possess, Mr. J. A. Allen speaks of still another individual 

 there first recorded, which was taken in Lynn, in November, 

 1877, by Mr. N. Vickary. This is the sum of the New England 

 record, so far as I am acquainted with it, and it warrants the 

 inference that the Loggerhead frequently pushes northward 

 into the Valley of the Connecticut River, though it does not 

 appear to have been noted at intermediate points thence to 

 its well-known Southern home. It is neither in Lawrence's 

 nor in TurnbulPs list, nor did I ever meet with it about 

 Washington. 



Both varieties, as I have said, occur in the Western States 

 east of the Mississippi with regularity and frequency, and 

 the White-rumped form pushes eastward into New York and 

 Canada. The northern limit of the latter is stated by Swain- 

 son and Richardson to be the 54th parallel. I have myself 

 found it breeding in Dakota at 49. It is said to occur in the 

 region of the Saskatchewan, where, however, I did not see it; 

 and it is very generally distributed in suitable places through- 

 out the West, extending even into Mexico, whence we have 

 sundry advices of its presence. Like its Northern congener, it 

 is an imperfectly migratory bird; a movement occurs each 

 season with some individuals, while others do not remove; 

 so that Shrikes of this variety may be found over the whole 

 area they inhabit at any season of the year, unless it be along 

 the northern border of their range. They appear to be most 

 numerous in intermediate regions, decreasing in numbers as 

 we proceed either way. The local records we possess for 

 various parts of the West are numerous and explicit, but 

 scarcely require to be set forth in detail upon the present 

 page. 



