148 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



the small birds, whom it often destroys in pure 

 ■wantonness, or merely to sup on their brains, as 

 the Gaucho slaughters a wild cow or bull for its 

 tongue. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Appar- 

 ently its victims are unacquainted with its true 

 character and allow it to approach them, when 

 the fatal blow is given. I saw an illustration of 

 this the other day. A large number of gold- 

 finches in their fall plumage, together with snow- 

 birds and sparrows, were feeding and chattering 

 in some low bushes back of the barn. I had 

 paused by the fence and was peeping through at 

 them, hoping to get a glimpse of that rare spar- 

 row, the white-crowned. Presently I heard a rus- 

 tling among the dry leaves as if some larger bird 

 were also among them. Then I heard one of the 

 goldfinches cry out as if in distress, when the 

 whole flock of them started up in alarm, and, 

 circling around, settled in the tops of the larger 

 trees. I continued my scrutiny of the bushes, 

 when I saw a large bird, with some object in its 

 beak, hopping along on a low branch near the 

 ground. It disappeared from my sight for a few 

 moments, then came up through the undergrowth 

 into the top of a young maple where some of the 

 finches had alighted, and I beheld the shrike. 

 The little birds avoided him and flew about the 

 tree, their pursuer following them with the mo- 



