272 THE GREAT GRAY SHRIKE. 



the head and bends backward over the neck. A few of its feathers project slightly forwards 

 so as to come beyond the base of the beak. 



Another species of Dicrurus is well known in India by the name of King Crow 

 {Dicrurus macrocercus), a title which it has earned by its boldness in attacking the crows 

 and maintaining royal dominion over them. In their habits the birds of this genus differ but 

 very slightly from each other, and in all essentials they agree. They are insect-feeders, pre- 

 ferring grasshoppers to any other prey, and often pouncing upon the backs of cattle for the 

 sake of capturing the flies that are so fond of attacking the poor beasts in the warm weather. 

 They will even take their posts with perfect composure on the back of a cow or goat, and 

 consider the animal as their especial property for the time being. • As they are swift of flighty 

 they constantly dart from their perches and capture insects on the wing. 



The nest of the King Crow is placed in the trees which grow in the thickest jungle, and is 

 made of slender twigs interwoven with grasses, moss, and lichens. Some of the Dicrurine 

 birds build a very beautiful and elaborately constructed nest, while others are content with 

 a negligent and slovenly residence. The eggs are generally three or four in number. 



SHRIKES. 



We now arrive at the family of LaniDxE, or Shrikes, or Butcher Birds, whose character 

 is given in the names by which they are distinguished. The scientific term Lanidee is of Latin 

 origin, and is derived from a word which signifies lacerating or tearing, in allusion to the 

 habits of the bird. These birds are found in all parts of the globe, and in all countries are 

 celebrat^^d for their sanguinary and savage character. They are quite as rapacious as any of 

 the hawk tribe, and in proportion to their size are much more destructive and bloodthirsty. 

 They feed upon small and disal)led mammalia, and birds of various kinds, especially prefemng 

 them while young and still unfledged, and upon several kinds of reptiles, and also find great 

 part of their subsistence among the members of the insect world. 



In order to fit them for these rapacious j^^irsuits, the bill is strong, rather elongated, 

 sharp-edged, curved at the tip, and armed on each side with a well-marked tooth. The wings 

 are powerful, the plumage closely set, and the claws, strong, curved, and sharp. The Shrikes 

 are separated for convenience of reference into two groups or sub-families, namely, the true 

 Shrikes, or Lanin^, and the Bush Shrikes, or Thamnophilin^. 



Of the true Shrikes we find an excellent example in the well-known Great Grat Shrike, 

 a bird which is very common in many parts of Europe, especially in the more southern and 

 warmer regions. 



This bird eats mice, shrews, small or young birds, frogs, lizards, beetles, grasshoppers, 

 and many other creatures. It generally, if not always, destroys its prey by a severe bite 

 across the head, crushing in the skull, and usually commences its meal mth the head. This, 

 together with the other Shrikes, has a curious habit of hanging its food upon some convenient 

 spot, such as a forked branch, a thorn or sharp broken end of a bough, and will frequently 

 leave its prey thus suspended for a considerable period. Even insects are served in this manner, 

 being impaled M\)on thorns and left hanging in the branches. The object of this curious custom 

 is extremely dubious. It cannot be merely for the purpose of holding the prey securely while 

 it feeds, for the Shrike will frequently commence eating a bird immediately after its capture, 

 holding the prey tightly wdth its claws after the manner of the hawks, and tearing it to pieces 

 with its powerfully hooked bill. Nor can it be with the object of making it tender by hanging 

 in the air, as the bird often devours the prey at once. Moreover, insects would not become 



