greatly differ in nature and habits, while 

 they may be identified at a glance, even 

 at some distance, by their specific exterior 

 markings, and by their respective sizes. 

 Lanius is the family name (in English 

 " the butcher "), an ugly adjective quali- 

 fying a beautiful and curiously fascinating 

 little free-lance in the world of wings, where 

 he gaily tilts against the field. 



The phrase " pleasant trouble " comes 

 so near to expressing the half-success, 

 half-disappointment attendant upon every 

 attempt at systematic shrike-study that I 

 shall emphasize it by repetition. No bird 

 of our woods and fields can be more pleas- 

 ing or more troublesome. His air of in- 

 difference, amounting almost to stupidity, 

 is a constant source of vexatious surprises. 

 You trust his apparent unconsciousness 

 time after time, in the face of treacheries 

 over which you have vowed never again 

 to be misled. He seems possessed of 

 powers all but uncanny in the way of 

 playing open and shut with himself. Now 

 you see, and now you don't see, what he 

 is up to. 



130 



