Cambridge, Mass.
1906
January 8
(No 2)
  The Shrike had not been noted in our garden since
December 27 until to-day although during this interim
Carl brought in the remains of what we think must
have been a third Sparrow, which had been killed and
suspended in a fork in lilacs. The Shrike was
first seen this morning, about nine o'clock, by Walter Deane,
carrying in its bill a bird which looked like a House Sparrow
but which was not certainly identified it flew across the
flower beds to the cedar tree by the pond where it spent
some time eating its victim after first fixing it in
a fork by the usual process of tugging and pulling.
  An hour or so later the Shrike appeared in a cherry
tree near my window where it remained several
minutes singing a little. Most of the notes which it
uttered on this occasion were harsh and unmusical
but all of them were evidently song, not call, notes.
This shrike is a brownish bird and evidently not
very mature although the dark markings on its head
are nearly black and very conspicuous. Since it
has haunted the Garden the House Sparrows have
nearly ceased to appear there and the visits of the
Chickadees are also becoming less and less frequent.