80 BIRDS 



Shrikes seem to be the only creatures that really r«ioi«« in 

 the rapid increase of English sparrows. In summer they 

 prefer large insects, especially grasshoppers, but in winter, 

 when they can get none, they must have the fresh meat of 

 birds or mice. At any season they deserve the fullest pro- 

 tection for the service they do the farmer. Shrikes kill 

 only that they themselves may live, and not for the sake of 

 slaughter, which is a so-called sport reserved for man alone, 

 who, in any case, should be the last creatiu-e to condemn 

 them. 



The loggerhead's call-notes are harsh, creaking, and un- 

 pleasant, but at the approach of the nesting season he 

 proves that he really can sing, although not half so well as 

 his cousin, the northern shrike, who astonishes us with a 

 fine song some morning in early spring. Before we be- 

 come famiUar with it, however, the wandering minstrel is 

 off to the Far North to nest within the arctic circle. It is 

 only in winter that the northern shrike visits the United 

 States, traveling as far south as Virginia and Kansas be- 

 tween October and April. 



The Cedar Waxwing 



Length — 7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the 

 robin; larger than the sparrow. 



Male — ^Upper parts rich grayish brown, with plum-colored 

 tints showing through the brown on crest, throat, breast, 

 wings, and tail. A velvety black line on forehead rims 

 through the eye and back of crest; chin black. Crest 

 conspicuous; breast lighter than the back, and shading 

 into yellow underneath. Wings have quill-shafts of 

 secondaries elongated, and with brilliant vermilion tips 



