338 
SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. —PASSERES — OSCINES. 
9.00-10.00; extent 13.50-14.50; wing 5.00-5.50 ; tail rather more; bill 0.75; tarsus 0.90; 
middle toe and claw 0.75. Young : The colors much less pure and clear. Above, grayish- 
brown, scarcely or not whitening on the scapulars, tail-coverts, and forehead. The younger 
the browner, sometimes almost with a rusty tinge ; grayer according to age. Below brownish- 
white (the younger the browner), the wavy dark markings stronger than in the adult. The 
bar along the head poorly defined, merely dusky, or quite obsolete. Wings and tail brownish- 
black, with less white than in the adult. Bill plumbeous-brown, flesh-colored at base below. 
At a very early age, the upper parts are probably vermiculated somewhat like the lower, as 
in the same stage of L. ludovicianus ; but this state I have not observed. In old age, the 
dusky vermiculation of the under parts is much diminished, but I have never seen it absent 
altogether. This feature, coupled with the particular character of the head-markings and 
the large size and comparatively short tarsi, will always distinguish the species from L. ludo- 
vicianus or excubitorides. N. Am., northerly ; breeds, however, on mountains of the Middle 
States and in New England ; in winter, usually extends S. to about 35°. The castle of this 
^'feudal baron and brigand bold" is built in a bush or low tree with a basement of sticks, 
upon which is matted and felted a thick warm superstructure of bark-strips, grasses, and soft 
vegetable substances: eggs 4-G, about 1.10X0.80, rather elliptical in shape, so profusely 
speckled, scratched, and marbled with reddish, brownish, and purplish shades that the greenish- 
gray ground color is scarcely perceptible. 
187. L. ludovicia'ims. (Lat. Zi<(/om'c/am<s, of Louisiana.) Loggerhead Shrike. ^9>^<l^ilt- 
Above, slate-colored, slightly whitish on upper tail-coverts and ends of scapulars ; below, 
white, sometimes a little ashy-shaded, but no wavy black lines, or only a few slight ones ; 
white on wings and tail less extensive than in horecdis or excubitorides; black bridle meeting its 
fellow across forehead, not interrupted by white on lower eyelid, scarcely or not bordered above 
by hoary white. Smaller: length 8.00-8.50; wing and tail each 4.00 or little more; tarsus 
at least 1.00, thus relatively longer than in borealis ; bill about 0.50. Young : diflFering from 
the adult much as young borealis does, and decidedly waved below, as in that species : but the 
size and other characters are distinctive. Eastern and Southern U. S., resident, abundant; in 
its typical manifestation it is characteristic of the S. Atlantic States ; but specimens more like 
ludovicianus than excubitorides occur N. to New England and W. to Ohio. 
188. C. 1. excubitori'des. (Lat. excubitor, a sentinel; Gr. €i8os, eidos, resemblance; i. e., like the 
European L. excubitor.) White -rumped Shrike. Common American Shrike. ^ 9 t 
adult : Leaden-gray or light slate-color, whitening on the scapulars and upper tail-covei-ts. 
Beneath, white, slightly shaded with the French gray on the sides, but without dusky vermicu- 
lation. A narrow stripe across the forehead, continuous with a broad bar along the side of the 
head, embracing the eye, black, slightly, if at all, bordered with whitish. Lower eyelid not 
white. Wings and tail black, with white markings, much as in the last species. Bill and feet 
plumbeous -black. Length under 9.00 ; extent 12.00-13.00 ; wing and tail, each, about 4.00 ; 
bill 0.66 ; tarsus 1.00 or more. Young : Vermiculated below with dusky, up(m a brownish 
ground, about to the same extent as is seen in very old examples of L. borealis. General tone of 
the upper parts less pure than in the adult ; scapulars and tail-coverts not purely white ; black 
bar of head less firm, but as far as it goes maintaining the characters of the species. At a. 
very early age, the upper parts, including the whitish of the scapulars and tail-coverts, are finely 
vermiculated with dusky waves. Tlie ends of the quills, wing-coverts, and tail-feathers often 
have rusty or rufous markings. Extreme examples of excubitorides look very different from 
ludovicianus proper, but the two are observed to melt into each other when many specimens 
are compared, so that no specific character can be assigned. Middle and Western N. Am. 
and Mexico ; N. to the region of the Saskatchewan, E. to Ohio, New York, Canada and 
even New England. 
