Cambridge, Mass.
1910.
March 26 [March 26, 1910]
(No 3)
branches and twigs near the ground. The next instant
I heard what seemed to be the agonized cries of some
small bird in extreme pain or terror. Feeling sure that
a sparrow was undergoing torture & death I rushed out
only to find the Shrike hopping about in the thickest
part of the tangle quite by himself flirting his wings &
jutting his wide-spread tail much in the manner of
an excited Towhee. He kept uttering the wounded-bird
cries at intervals, usually loudly at first, then more & more
& more feebly until they could scarce be heard. So perfectly
did they resemble the outcry of a small bird when caught
and rather slowly killed by a Hawk or Shrike that I
could not help thinking that they represented a
deliberate imitation of such cries, based on long personal
experience on the part of the Shrike and that they were
designed by him on this occasion to entice little birds to the spot
by working on their sympathy or curiosity. If so they failed to serve 
this purpose.
Northern Shrike
Imitates outcry of small bird in clutches of bird of prey