BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 291 



INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 



The Great American Shrike, Lanius septcntrionalis, is 

 commonly called the Butcher bird, from its habit of destroying 

 other birds. It pursues them with a vigor from which they 

 cannot escape, and strikes at them, even when kept in cages 

 and under the protection of man. There have been many cases 

 in which it has thus risked its own life and liberty in order to 

 secure its prey. But Wilson was of opinion, that grasshoppers 

 and other insects were its main dependence for food, and that 

 it was only when pressed with hunger, that it preyed on other 

 birds. Still, it has the habit of imitating the notes of other 

 birds, particularly such as indicate anxiety and distress, and it 

 does it apparently for the purpose of bringing the companions 

 of the supposed sufferers within its reach. 



All who have paid any attention to this bird, have remarked 

 its curious habit of impaling on thorns the insects it has caught, 

 and there leaving them to decay. This practice of gathering 

 what he does not want, and keeping it till it can be of no use 

 to him, is regarded as an unaccountable mystery in a bird, 

 while in man, the same proceeding is considered natural and 

 wise. It can hardly be meant as a decoy, for, as just stated, 

 it has the power of attracting other birds by false appeals to 

 their sympathy, and does not need to take this trouble. It 

 may sometimes be heard sending out these false alarms, and 

 when the poor birds collect, in anxiety to learn what the matter 

 is, it darts at one of them and fills the air with the cries of a 

 real victim. 



Though the feet of this bird are small, the claws are sharp, 

 and can inflict a severe wound. Its flight is bold and strong, 

 and on this it depends for securing its prey. It is seldom, if 

 ever, seen walking on the ground. At the approach of spring, 

 most of them leave us, though some are said to pass the sum- 

 mer in the forests of New England. 



