Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1901.
February.
(6).
  The birds seen in the garden have been surprisingly few,
during the month of February: .
  1. Parus atricapillus.
  The Chickadees have visited the suet by my window
continuously throughout the month. I myself have seen
them feeding on it, on eighteen different days.
The flocks have contained as many as seven birds. On
the 16th I heard the Phoebe-call uttered twice.
  2. Lanius borealis.
  The shrike has been seen in the garden four times
during the month. On the 2nd Gilbert and I saw him kill
an English Sparrow. When we first saw him he was on the
Sparrow in the snow by the board walk near my window.
The Sparrow was struggling, and the Shrike was hammering
at the base of the poor bird's skull. This he did four
or five times, each time worrying the bird with his bill
instead of withdrawing it immediately. The Sparrow's struggle
grew feebler and soon the Shrike, taking the bird in his
bill, flew over to the cedar tree by the pond. An hour
later I saw the Shrike fly down from the tree, pick up
a small object from the snow, and then, dropping it,
pick up another and fly into the tree and soon leaving
the tree scale out of sight. The small object, as I
13