138 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



ever found of this species. It was com- 

 posed of vegetable down of various plants, 

 mixed with fine grass and lined with hair 

 and other soft materials. Outwardly it was 

 decorated with various colored lichens. It 

 was quite compact and cup-shaped, and at a 

 short distance from the tree looked like a 

 round knot protruding from the limb. 



The eggs are trom three to five in num- 

 ber, and have a bluish-white ground color. 

 Speckled with chestnut. I found one egg 

 which had a fle.sh-colored ground. The 

 eggs do not often var}^ in dimension more 

 than from .55 x .42 to .59 x .45 inches. 



The nest is sometimes placed in the ver}' 

 top of the tallest trees, 50 feet from the 

 ground, and at other times no more than 

 10 feet; but more often 15 or 20 feet from 

 the ground. 



The nest nearly always contains one or 

 more eggs of the Cow Bunting. 



After the nesting season is over the Blue- 

 grays go in a little company (a family Koing 

 together). The youngsters are alxnit the 

 same color as the parents. They take their 

 departure for their winter home in the Gulf 

 States and the Bahamas about the 25th of 

 September. 



David L. Savagk. 



Salem, Iowa. 



Feathered Butchers, 



WITH the first warm days of vSpring. 

 about the la.st of March, there comes 

 about the leafless cottonwood and 

 willow trees that peculiar and inter- 

 esting bird, the White-rumped Shrike (La- 

 nijis ludocivanus excubitorides) . Peculiar in 

 that, although .so small, he has well earned 

 the name of butcher ; interesting in that 

 he stands alone among the other birds with 

 Init few relatives. From the nature of his 

 mode of life it is neces.sary that he be a 

 quiet bird, and indeed he has but a very 

 few notes. However, I have heard the 

 Californian variety (gambeli) .sit on a tele- 

 graph pole and .sing a very plea.sing song. 

 It is a sort of practice in an undertone, as 

 if he were afraid of being overheard in such 

 frivolity. The ])eculiarity of this bird, 

 which .seems never to have been explained, 

 is his habit of imi)aling food. Some .seem 

 to think that the Shrike wi.shes to make 

 "jerked beef" of the birds he kills, .saving 

 them for future reference ; while other ob- 

 •servers say that he wishes to be better able 

 to " butcher " his meat ; a .sort of candy- 



pull act. I can not say which is true ; per- 

 haps both.* 



In localities v*here there are bushes hav- 

 ing short thorns the Shrike uses the.se for 

 suspending his prey, but about Denver I 

 find that he makes a liberal use of barl)-wire 

 for stringing up House Finches {Carpodacus 

 incxica>uis frontalis) , TreeSpar rows ( Ji/Z^^V/^i: 

 uiontkola ochraccii) and large grasshoppers. 

 In habits the Shrike seems something be- 

 tween a large F'lycatcher and small Hawk. 

 I liave .seen him fly from a perch, full}^ one 

 hundred feet to catch a grasshopper, re- 

 minding me at once of the well known 

 habits of the small Flycatchers. 



This Shrike breeds commonly in Colorado, 

 selecting a willow or cottonwood for the 

 ])ulky nest. Sometimes the nest may be 

 reached from the ground, and it is seldom 

 above twenty feet up. The exterior has 

 the appearance of a last year's nest, but the 

 interior is well made and deeply cupped. 

 It is usuall}'- lined with soft vegetable fibres 

 and rootlets. I have found seven eggs to 

 be the usual number in a nest. Sometimes 

 five or six is a complete set. Fresh eggs 

 may be taken about Maj^ 20. I believe 

 that this bird is of great value during the 

 breeding season, for he must destroy num- 

 l^erless grasshoppers, which are extremelj' 

 common in Colorado, some .seasons amount- 

 ing almost to a plague. Other insects are 

 destroyed and perhaps a few Sparrows. The 

 general coloring of the Shrike is not unlike 

 the Mockingbird. I remember seeing, in 

 lyOS Angeles, young Shrikes offered for sale 

 as Mockingl)irds ! 



In late fall and winter the White-rumped 

 Shrike leaves, and the Northern vShrike Qm- 

 iiius borcalis) takes his place. This is a 

 larger species, and I think he is more de- 

 structive to the small biids. In winter, to 

 find a flock of Tree Sparrows or Juncos, usu- 

 ally means to find one or two Northern 

 vShrikes near by. One day in winter I was 

 following a flock of Western Tree Sparrows, 

 and had just crawled through a wire fence, 

 when a Sparrow came rushing and dodging 

 toward me. A vShrike was close behind, 

 and in spite of all the Sparrow could do the 

 vShrike would not give uj) the chase. They 

 disappeared behind a bank, and before I 

 coulcl catch up, the Shrike had finished his 

 work. He flew to a tree within a few feet 

 of me and dropped the Sparrow on the 

 ground. I found that the skin and part of 

 the skull were torn away, exposing the 

 brain. When I replaced the Sparrow, the 



