74 THE Birps Asout Us. 
akin to the shrikes, birds of a harsh name, or 
butcher-birds, which is full of bloody meaning; and 
certainly the birds have nothing to commend them. 
They are not pretty, they are not sociable, they have 
no song-power worthy of attention, and they do go 
about seeking whom, among weaker animals, they 
may devour. 
Dr. Coues says of the two species found in the 
United States,— 
“« Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in deeds 
of daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the shrike com- 
pels that sort of deference, not unmixed with indignation, we are 
accustomed to accord to creatures of seeming insignificance, whose 
exploits demand much strength, great spirit, and insatiate love of 
carnage. We cannot be indifferent to the marauder who takes his 
own wherever he finds it,—a feudal baron, who holds his own with 
undisputed sway,—an ogre whose victims are so many more than 
he can eat that he actually keeps a private graveyard for the 
balance.”’ 
There are two of these shrikes: the “ Loggerhead” 
comes in April to the Middle States, and northward, 
and remains all 
summer, al- 
though not 
equally  distrib- 
uted; and in 
November the 
Great Northern 
Shrike comes 
down and stays 
until April, so 
we are never without one or the other of them. Did 
they not kill small birds we would have no com- 
