166 LAND-BIRD& 



the lower whistles are sweet and quite different in tone. It 

 partakes of the owners' nature, much as the human voice does, 

 and indicates the almost fiery temperament of these little 

 Vireos, which is so markedly in contrast with the cheerfulness, 

 gentleness, and calmness of other members of their family. 

 Their music is constantly varied, and in it one may occasion- 

 ally hear the apparently mimicked notes of other birds. 



§ 14. LANIID-^. Shrikes. (See § 13.) 



L LANIUS. 



A. BOEEALis. ( Great Northern) Shrike. " Butcher-hird." 

 A winter visitant to Massachusetts, but never very common.* 



a. 9-10 inches long. Above, light bluish ash^ very light 

 on the rump. Below, white, very finely waved with black 

 (often almost imperceptibly). Edging of crown, eye-ring 

 and middle of the forehead, white. Best of forehead, contin- 

 uously with broad stripes through the eye, black. "Wings and 

 tail, black, with white markings. 



Kg. 7. Bnteher-bird. (J) 



h. The nest is placed in the woods, in the fork of a bush, 

 not far from the ground. It is composed of leaves, grasses, 

 and roots, is often lined with feathers, and is finished early la 

 the season. One set of eggs contains from four to six, aver- 

 aging 1.10 X -80 of an inch. A specimen before me is blotched 

 and spotted, most thickly about the crown, with faint lilac, and 

 light sandy and yellowish brown ; others are darker. 



* A winter resident, common for a bird of its solitary habits and predatory 

 disposition, but seldom seen in any oonsideiable numbers. — W. B. 



