192 



ORDERS OF BIRDS— PEKCHERS AND SINGERS 



destroyers, and none of them to be spared with- 

 out loss except the English sparrow. On the 

 other hand, this bird is a great destroyer of wild 

 mice, which in cold weather formed one-fourth 

 of its entire food. The Loggerhead also feeds 

 freely upon lizards, snakes, frogs and fish, when 

 they are obtainable. The Butcher-Bird is a 

 deadly enemy of the English sparrow, and kills 

 and eats them so industriously that in Boston 

 certain city officials once felt called upon to order 

 the Shrikes to be shot. 



The accompanying table is a very full ex- 

 position of the food habits of the two members 

 of the Shrike Family referred to. 



THE WAXWING FAMILY. 



A ynpelidae. 



The Bohemian Waxwing. 1 — Once, on a cer- 

 tain cold and bleak Thanksgiving spent on the 

 banks of the Musselshell River in Montana, 

 when the mercury stood at S° below zero and 

 the face of nature was a "gray and melancholy 

 waste," a flock of birds settled in the top of a 

 dead cedar that stood near our camp. They 

 were like so many exquisite gems, found ready 

 cut and polished in a desert of rocks; and the 

 whole camp quickly turned out to admire the 

 exquisite creatures at short range. 



Table showing Percentages of Principal Elements of Food of the Butcher-Bird and 

 Loggerhead Shrike, calculated by volume. 



By Sylvester D. Judd, United States Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 9. 



The Great Northern Shrike is able to sing, but 

 seldom does so; and many of his friends think 

 he sings not at all. In summer -it ranges all the 

 way to Cook Inlet, Alaska, and in winter it mi- 

 grates as far south as Virginia. In the south- 

 ern states it meets the Loggerhead Shrike, and 

 the two species so strongly resemble each other 

 they are like two feathered Dromios. 



I think that the Bohemian Waxwing, when 

 alive and in perfect plumage, is one of the most 

 exquisite perching-birds I know. It is not gor- 

 geous or resplendent; but in dainty prettiness 

 of form, immaculateness of plumage, and deli- 

 cate refinement in color-scheme combined, it 

 has few equals. The red wax-like tip on the 

 1 Am-pel'is gar-ru'lus. Length, 8 inches. 



