THE FOOD OF SHRIKES. 



By Sylvester D. Judd, Ph. D. 

 HABITS OF SHRIKES. 



Two species of shrikes inhabit North America. One, the loggerhead 

 shrike [Lanius ludoviciamis et stihsjyec), is a permanent resjjdent in the 

 United States; the other, the butcherbird {Lanius horealis), visits us 

 from the north in winter. Either might be mistaken for a mocking bird, 

 but upon close inspection is seen to have the hooked beak of a hawk; 

 instead of possessing talons, however, it has weak and slender feet, 

 thus combining characters of a bird of prey with those of a song bird. 



During cold weather the shrike in wait for prey takes his stand on 

 some high perch that commands a wide view. In this position he 

 watches, ready to pounce on the first bird that twitters in the briers, 

 or mouse that rustles in the grass. When the quarry has been secured, 

 it is carried to a shari) twig or thorn and spitted, and then the hunter, 

 ever eager to satisfy his desire for the chase, goes off to the hedgerows 

 to search for more game. In Germany it is said that a closely allied 

 species daily kills and impales nine victims, from which belief came the 

 common name ^Weuntodter^ or Mnekiller. It is well known that the 

 shrike kills and hangs up in his shambles more than he can utilize. But 

 this apparently wanton slaughter may often be the salvation of many a 

 shrike whose hunt over snow-covered fields has yielded no return. 



This habit of impaling its prey is well described by Mr. Benjamin 

 Mortimer who, in writing from Orange, Fla., says : 



In March, 1889, two instances of the loggerhead shrike's killing smaller hirds 

 came under my notice. In both cases the victim was a grasshopper sparrow, 

 although birds of this species were few and. scattered at that time, while the 

 savanna sparrow was very abundant. The sj^arrows were impaled by the neck upon 

 orange thorns, and there were no wounds on any other part of the body. * * * 

 Tliis bird (the shrike) impales its prey not only wlien it wishes to preserve it, but 

 also when it intends to devour it immediately, and the long slivers on fresh piue 

 stumps are commonly selected for the purpose wherever they can be found. The 

 bird flies to a stump with its victim, usually a beetle, and forces it upon a sliver, 

 just behind the thorax, thus having a convenient place to stand and a convenient 

 fork to hold the morsel while he breaks open the hard shell and eats the softer parts. 

 The same stump is resorted to many times by the same bird, so that it is common to 

 find quantities of the legs and wing cases of beetles about these curious dining 



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