82 
BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
of the following March I saw thirty-five, dividing their time between 
eating cedar berries and whispering together in some gray birches. 
As a general thing, however, they are not seen much after the middle 
of October, and do not appear again till about the tenth of April. They 
are gregarious at all times. Before bird-cherries and other early small 
fruits are ripe, they stay for the most part in the vicinity of water, 
where they perch on exposed branches and dart out after passing flies 
and other insects with considerable address. They delight in glut- 
tony, and when fruits are fit for eating, they gorge themselves to the 
full. Parental duties are delayed till July, when they are prosecuted 
w^ith such dispatch that young and old are shortly companions at the 
choke cherry feasts, the blueberry feasts, the black cherry feasts, and 
all the other feasts that are daily enjoyed. Graceful, indolent, beau- 
tiful, soft-voiced epicures — they are the tip-tops of feathered aris- 
tocracy. 
Family LANIID^. 
Lanius borealis. Northern Shrike. 621. 
This shrike is a winter visitant, coming south in November and 
going north in April. Though the southward wave of migration passes 
us, stragglers are occasionally seen throughout the winter. I have 
found them near water oftener than elsewhere. Though they some- 
times pursue small birds, insects form the main element of their food. 
They are accustomed to perch on a stake or a lone tree, which aftbrds 
them a good outlook, and scan the ground for insects. 
Lanius ludovicianus. Loggerhead Shrike. 622. 
The Loggerhead is an occasional summer resident, most likely to 
be seen in August after the young are on the wing and scattered 
abroad. Its general habits are like those of the Northern Shrike, 
which it resembles also in color, but differs from in size, being smaller. 
Its nest, which is likely to be found in an apple or other scrubby tree, 
is a well made structure of sticks, lined with soft materials, quite cred- 
itable to the builder. There need never be any confusion in the mind 
of an observer as to which of the two shrikes he sees, as this species 
s seen only in summer, and the other only in late autumn, winter, or 
early spring. 
