546 SHRIKES m A STATE OF NATURE 



scribed a Shrike, supposed to he from " California ", which he iden- 

 tified with Swainson's bird, and called L. elegam. Oassin (Pr. 

 Phil. Acad. 1857, 213) and Baird (BNA. 1858, 328, note; ed. of 

 18C0, atlas pi. 75, f. 1) accepted this identification of Gambel's 

 specimen, subsequently called Gollyrio elegans by Baird (BNA. 

 1858, p. XXXV.) and Oollurio elegans by Baird (Eev. A. B. 1866, 

 444 ; Hist. NAB. i. 1874, 414). On other pages of the last-cited 

 work, however, Baird renames Gambel's specimen Gollurio lu- 

 dovicianus var. robustus, giving it a new designation in view of 

 the fact that the true elegans of Swainson had been shown, as 

 above stated, to be an Old World species, L. lahtora. All these 

 later citations of "elegans", resting solely upon Gambel's spe- 

 cimen, are, of course, to be carefully discriminated from those 

 which refer to Swainson's type. Gambel's bird is said by Baird 

 and Eidgway to be "very decidedly different from any of the 

 recognized North American species"; and they also state that 

 they have " no reason to discredit the alleged locality of the 

 specimen ". Under the circumstances, however, I shall decline 

 to take further notice of the supposed species in the present 

 work. 



15. Lanius mexicanus, Brehm, Journ. fiir Ornith. 1854, 145, 

 148 (see Sol. PZS. 1864, 173). The Shrike of Mexico, described 

 as distinct by 0. L. Brehm, seems to be reducible to L. excubito- 

 rides, with little probability of error. It may be noted, that 

 though Swainson identified the Mexican bird with L. caro- 

 line7isis Wils., this was done before he had distinguished L. excu- 

 bitorides. 



16. COLLTEIO CHEMTTNGENSis, Gregg, Pr. Elmira Acad, for 

 1870. A name bestowed upon some plumage of L. borealis, 

 in which the rump is said to be "rufous". 



§ 3. — Of Shrikes in a Stute of Nature 



Having thus seen something of the figure Shrikes cut in the 

 books, let us turn to a fairer and a broader page, to seek for 

 those traits which have made these birds famous from time 

 out of mind. I doubt not that the natural history of these 

 "sentinels" and "executioners" is more attractive than what 

 has just preceded; for all this naming and renaming distorts 

 most grievously the clean-cut picture which the Shrikes pre- 

 sent in their native haunts. We will here take up the Logger- 

 head and the Northern Butcher-bird together — for they are as 



