66 



BUTCHER-BIRD. 



which, still attached to the thorn, is now in my possession ; after killing 

 the bird it hovered for a short time with the prey in its hill over the 

 hedge, apparently occupied in selecting* a thorn fit for the purpose ; upon 

 disturbing it, and advancing to the spot, I found the accentor firmly 

 fixed by the tendon of the wing to the selected twig. When confined 

 in a cage this bird still evinces the same propensity for fixing its food, 

 and if a sharp-pointed thorn or stick is not left for that purpose, it will 

 invariably fasten it to the wires before commencing its repast." Selby 

 found in the stomach of one of these birds, the remains of a mouse ; and 

 Montagu found in another those of a shrew (Sorex arenarius, Linn.) 



" I could never observe," says Mr. Knapp, " that this bird destroyed 

 others smaller than itself, or even fed upon flesh. I have hung up dead 

 young birds, and even parts of them, near their nests ; but never found 

 that they were touched by the shrike. Yet it appears that it must be a 

 butcher too ; and that the name * lanius,' bestowed on it by Gesner two 

 hundred and fifty years ago, was not lightly given. My neighbour's 

 gamekeeper kills it as a bird of prey ; and tells me he has known it draw 

 the weak young pheasants through the bars of the breeding coops ; and 

 others have assured me, that they have killed them when banqueting 

 on the carcass of some little bird they had captured. All small birds 

 have an antipathy to the shrike, betray anger, and utter the moan of 

 danger, when it approaches their nests. I have often heard this signal 

 of distress, and, cautiously approaching to learn the cause, have fre- 

 quently found that this butcher-bird occasioned it. They will mob, 

 attack, and drive it away, as they do the owl, as if fully acquainted with 

 its plundering propensities. Linnaeus attached to it the trivial epithet 

 i excubitorj a sentinel ; a very apposite appellation, as this bird seldom 

 conceals itself in a bush, but sits perched upon some upper spray, in an 

 open situation, heedful of danger, or watching for its prey." 



Audobon informs us that, " when pouncing on its prey, this bird 

 seizes it with its bill first, (if insectivorous,} then secures it under its 

 feet to eat it. When coming on a bird or mouse, which it has pursued 

 for some distance, it settles its feet at the moment it strikes with its bill 

 the cranium of the object pursued. I have seen a bird of this kind, 

 in America, he adds, carried to a considerable distance by a Carolina 

 dove, fastened to the back and head of the dove with beak and feet. 

 Although the toes are slender, aud the claws comparatively weak, their 

 press is powerful ; and the bite it inflicts with the bill, can draw blood 

 from a robust man's hand. 



The flight is interrupted, being performed by jerks; and when perched, 

 the tail is in constant motion. Its voice is capable of much variation, 



