LANTID.E — TTIE SHRIKES. 417 



Both ^Ir. Audubon and Mr. Nuthdl ivl'ir to tliis 81irike's imitating the. 

 cries ol' otluT l)ii'ds, aiipaii'ntly to decoy tlicni within its reiudi. The former 

 has heard it utter cries like tiiose ol' the Sparrow screaminjj; in the claws of 

 a Hawk, to induce; them to come out of their coverts and rescue their sufl'er- 

 ing fellows, and has sisen them dart suddenly into a thii'ket in jiursuit of oiu;, 

 from which would soon issue tlie real cries of the hird it had seized. Nuttall 

 states tiiat in some parts of Xew Kngland this Shrike is called a Mocking- 

 Ihrd, oii account of its inntations of tlie notes of smaller hird.s. Its more 

 usual note resendJes the discordant creaking of a signboard hinge. He also 

 states that it has been known to mimic the quacking of ducks, .so that 

 these would answer to it as t(j a decoy. He heard one of these birds, as 

 late as Noveml)er 1(1, uttering a h)w and soft warble, resendiling that of the 

 Song Sparrow, innncdiattdy after changing it to the notes of the Catbird. 



When in pursuit of small l)irds, it will dart down with closed wings, in 

 the manner of a Hawk, and seldom fails to ol)tain the object of its pursuit, 

 following it with rapidity and ])ertinacity tiirough the thickets in whii^h it 

 seeks shelter. When it seizes its prey, it alights on its back, and tears open 

 its head. 



Its bold audacity ami ))erseverance are quite remarkable, and arc often dis- 

 played, in (lu; fall, in the manner in which it will enter an a])artment 

 through an open wimhnv and attack a Canary, even in the i)reseiice of mem- 

 bers of the family. It randy fails, if it gains access to the cage, to destroy its 

 inmate before the latter can be rescued by the intervention of tho.se ])rcsent, 

 and only l\v great promi)tness in sheltering the cage. In one instance the 

 writer was sitting at a closed window reading, with a Canary Iianging above 

 him. Suihlcnly there was a .severe blow striu^k at the pane of glass near 

 the cage, and the frightened Canary uttered cries of alarm and fell to the 

 bottom of its cage The cause was soon ex]dained. A Shrike hail dashed 

 upon the bird, unt'onscious of the intervening glass, and was stretched upon 

 the snow under the window, stunned by tlie blow. He revived wlien taken 

 up, and livtul several days, was sidlen, but tanu', and utterly devoid of fear. 

 Ht; refused raw meat, but eagerly tore in pieces and devoured small l)irds 

 when given to him. His tameness and indiifereiu'C to our presence naiy have 

 been occasioned by stu])or arising from his injury. In another case a Shrike 

 mad(! a similar attack, lint escajfcd unharmed, and though he remainetl about 

 (he iiimse several days, was too wary to allow himself to be decoyed within 

 gunshot. 



A nest of the Northern Shrike, containing six eggs, was obtained by 

 R. li. McFarlane, at Anderson IJiver Fort, duiu! 11, ISii:') This is in many 

 respects in striking contrast with the nests of its kindivd species of the 

 Southern States, far exceeding tlunn in its relative size, in elal)orate finish 

 and warmth. It is altogether a remarkable examjile of what are known as 

 felted nests, where various materials are most elaborately worked together 

 into a homojieneous and symmetrical wliole. It is seven inches in diameter 



