Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1900.
December.
(14)
dislodged and fell to the ground. The Shrike following picked
it up in its bill and flew to another branch but a few feet
from the one used before, and then selecting another crotch
fastened his prey again. After pulling out a few more feath-
ers he appeared dissatisfied with the situation, and again
taking the bird in his bill flew to a neighboring branch in
full view of us and just twenty yards away. There selecting
a short, thorn-like branch, the Shrike gave us an exhibition 
of the entire process of impaling. This small stem I examined 
later. It was about an inch long and the size of an ordinary
slate pencil and had a rather blunt end. The Shrike stood on
the branch just below this thorn which inclined away from him,
the branch itself standing at an angle of about 45 degrees
with the ground. Then holding the Sparrow tightly by the
neck he threw the body up several times, until he got it on
to the end of the thorn. Then bracing with his feet, extend-
ing his neck and pulling backwards, he tugged and tugged
jerking and jerking with all his might, until he had pulled
the Sparrow on to the thorn down to the very branch, the end
of the thorn entering the bird's breast. Neither on this oc-
casion nor that of fastening the bird in the fork did I notice
any movement of the birds wings. I watched this whole opera-
tion through my glass every motion and every marking of the
127