424 NORTH AMERU.'AX BIRDS. 



till' sumo manner to tlu- nlijcrt u]«in wliicli it is next tn li^'lit. TUv lli;,rlit is 

 ]H>i'i'iii'm(Hl ill an iiiiiliiiatiii;^ manner, tla; liinl siisiaiiiin^ itsi^lf a siiort lime 

 by a rapitl iiutteriiii,' of tlio wind's, and sinkinj,' as tiiis iiKilidii is siisjteiuled. 

 As it tiies, the white ]iatch on tiie wiiij,', witii tlie general apiiearaiu'e of its 

 <,'i'ay anil wliite i>luina,i;e, inereases its resenililance to the Mockinjf-I'.inl. 



Thoii^'ii very partial to thorn-trees (honey-locust), other trees havinj,' a 

 thick loliaLjo — as those canopied hy a tan,t,ded mass of wild j,'ra)>evines — 

 are frecpiently occupied as nestinj,'-])laces ; wiiile a jiair IVe(|uently niak(^ 

 their home in an apple-orchard, selectini^f tlie old untrinimed trees. The 

 situation of the nest varies according to the character of the tree; if in a 

 thorn-bush, it is placed ne.\t the trunk, encased within jtrotectinj,' bundles of 

 thorns ; but if in an a]t])le-tree, it is situated, j,'eiierally, near the extremity of 

 a horizontal branch. The niimlier of e,u;jj;s is <;enerally si.\, liut ^fr. I{idj.nvay 

 1ms several times found seven in one nest. No bird is more intrepid in the 

 defence of its nest than the i)rest'nt one ; at such times it loses, apparently, 

 all fear, and beciunes almost frenzied with an.iicr, aliyhtin^' so near that one 

 might grasp it, were he (juick enough, and with open mouth and spriiad 

 wings and tail threatening the intruder, its attacks accompanied by a pecu- 

 liar crackling noise, interrupted by a harsh, grating qua, qua, qua, slowly 

 repeated, luit emphatically uttered. 



The habit peculiar to the Shrikes of imjialing their victims Mr. IMdgway 

 has observed fretjuently in this species; fortius purpose the long and ex- 

 tremely .sharp thorns of the honey-locust .serve it admirably; and "spitted" 

 upon them he has found shrews, mice, grasshoppers, s]iiders, and even a 

 Chimney-Swallow [Cliafiira pclmjica); and, in another instance, but upon 

 the upright broken-off twig of a dead weed in a field, a large spider. He has 

 al.so known this l)ird to dart at the cage of a Canary- Uird, and frighten the 

 poor inmate so that it thrust its head between the wires, when it was imme- 

 diately torn otf by th(i powerful lieak of the IJutcher-nird. 



The young of this species becomes a very pleasing and extremely docile 

 ])et. Mr. liidgway has known one which, though fully grown, with power 

 of flight uninjured, and in possession of unrestrained freedom, came to its 

 po.sscs.sor at his call, and accompanied him through the tieUls, its attachment 

 being rewarded by frequent " do.ses " of grasshoppei-s, caught for it. It had 

 been fully feathered before taken from the nest. Unfortunately the vocal 

 cajiabilities of this Shrike are not suflicient to allow its becoming a gen- 

 end favorite as a jiet; for, although ])ossessiiig consideralde talent for 

 mimicry, it imitates only the rudest sounds, while its own notes, consist- 

 ing of a grating, sonorous qua and a peculiar creaking sound, each with 

 several variations, are anything but delightful. 



