90 
LANIINtE. 
Species of this order occur in all parts of the globe, but 
their number increases with the temperature, and those 
which breed in the northern regions migrate southward I; 
as winter approaches. The larger species feed on mice, , 
small birds, reptiles, and insects ; are shy, ferocious, : 
tyrannical, and unsocial ; frequent woods and thickets ; I 
and have a rapid, buoyant, and undulating flight. The i 
smaller species feed on insects, some of them also occa- -j 
sionally on small soft fruits. They nestle in trees and l| 
bushes, sometimes in holes, and make an elaborate nest, 
lining it with soft materials. The young, at first blind I! 
and bare, remain until able to fly. Three families may / 
be referred to this order : Laniin^, Myiotherust^, Psa- « 
RiNiE, and CoRACiiisriE, the first two being the Shrikes and 1 
Fiychasers, of which we have a few species, the next the 8 
Thick-bills, of which we have none, and the last the Rol- 
lers, represented by a single species. 
FAMILY IX. LANIIN^. LANIIXE BIRDS 
OR SHRIKES. 
Body compact, moderately full ; neck rather short ; ;; 
head large, broadly ovate, or roundish. Bill rather short, . 
or moderate, strong, as high as broad at the base, com- • 
pressed ; upper mandible with the ridge convex, the : 
edges sharp, with well-marked dentiform process and ' 
notch, the tip slender, decurved, acute ; lower mandible f 
with the tip small, ascending, with a sinus behind it. 
Mouth rather wide ; both mandibles concave ; tongue 
sagittate at the base, tapering, thin-edged, with the tip ' 
slit and lacerated ; oesophagus of moderate width, without i 
crop ; proventriculus oblong, with short cylindrical glan- 
dules ; stomach elliptical, moderately muscular, the epi- 
thelium thin and rugous ; intestine short, of moderate 
