A M ERIC A N O RNITHOL OGY. 

 NEST AND EGGS. 



41 



The lower portion of this Shrike's nest is mainly of sticks thrown 

 loosely together. The remainder is a combination of twigs, grasses, 

 strips of bark and feathers. This nest is placed in hedges or thickets, 

 often near dwellings or in isolated bushes in a field bordering some 

 piece of woodland. During May, they lay from four to six grayish or 

 pale greenish colored eggs, thickly spotted with brownish and greenish 

 markings. 



HABITS. 



IRDS are subject to as great differ- 

 ences in disposition as are human be- 

 ings. Some are shy and retiring, 

 others bold and aggressive; some 

 quiet and unobtrusive, others loud 

 arid boisterous. The subject of this 

 sketch is one of the oddities of the 

 bird world. A casual observer, at a 

 lid remark that from appearance the 

 Shrike was a peaceable, law-abiding bird. A 

 closer inspection reveals a hooked beak seeming- 

 ^/ ]y out of place, when the sparrowlike feet with 



//^<V which the bird is equipped, are considered. Beneath their 

 ■\\J ^°^^ of soft gray feathers, lies a nature, cruel and cunning 

 v^'^.l':^ in the extreme, and I have seen their sharp brown eyes 

 take on a look of sullen determination, comparable only to 

 that of an ill-tempered bulldog. 

 While in their summer home in Canada, their food consists almost 

 wholly of mice, grasshoppers and beetles, and the good they do is in- 

 estimable. Unfortunately for the good of their reputation, they are only 

 seen in the United States during the cold of winter, when lack of food 

 causes them to fall into line and come south with the other migrating 

 birds. At this season of the year, their diet is mostly made up of what 

 small birds they can capture, and their manner of serving them for din- 

 ner has given them the unenviable name of "Butcher-bird." 



Owing to the character of their feet, they are unable to hold their 

 prey firmly, when tearing it to pieces. To take the place of the talons, 



