102 



KEY AND DESCRIPTION 



upward turn and perches on the outside twigs of the tree or 



bush. It may be distinguished by the terror it causes among 



the small birds in its vicinity. (Butcher-bird.) 



Length, 10; wing, i] (4|-4|); tail, 4| ; tarsus, 1; 



culiuun, :;. Northern North America ; breeding 



north of the United States, and wintering in the 



Middle States. 



2. Loggerhead Shrike (622. Ldmius lu- 

 (loriri())tiis). — A bird similar to the 

 last, but with more black on the 

 sides of the head, connected 

 across the forehead by 

 a narrow black stripe. 

 There are fewer wavy 

 lines, or almost none, 

 across the breast. Both 

 these species are noted 

 for the habit of impaling their prey — grasshopper, lizard, 

 snake, or bird — on thorns. Both of these birds sing in the 

 springtime. The notes of northern shrike are very musical, 

 and resemble some- 

 what those of the cat- 

 bird, but those of the 

 loggerhead are too 

 harsh to be pleasant. 



Noitliem Shrike 



Length, 9 ; wing, 3y 

 (3|-4); tail, 4; tarsus, 

 1 ; culmen, ^. United 

 States, from the Plains 

 eastward, and north to 

 northern New England ; 

 breeding from the Gulf 

 States north to southern Loggeriiead Suiike 



New Jersey and the 



Great Lakes. The White-rumped Shrike (022". /.. I. exnibitorides), a 

 variety found from the Plains to the Pacific, has, as its name indicates, 

 the upper tail coverts more or less distinctly whitish. 



