192 
ORDERS OF BIRDS— PERCHERS AND SINGERS 
destroyers, and none of them to be spared with- 
out loss except the English sparrow. On the 
other hand, this bird is a great destroyer of wild 
mice, which in cold weather formed one-fourth 
of its entire food. The Loggerhead also feeds 
freely upon lizards, snakes, frogs and fish, when 
they are obtainable. The Butcher-Bird is a 
deadly enemy of the English sparrow, and kills 
and eats them so industriously that in Boston 
certain city officials once felt called upon to order 
the Shrikes to be shot. 
The accompanying table is a very full ex- 
position of the food habits of the two members 
of the Shrike Family referred to. 
THE WAXWING FAMILY. 
Ampelidae. 
The Bohemian Waxwing . 1 — Once, on a cer- 
tain cold and bleak Thanksgiving spent bn the 
banks of the Musselshell River in Montana, 
when the mercury stood at 8° below zero and 
the face of nature was a “gray and melancholy 
waste,” a flock of birds settled in the top of a 
dead cedar that stood near our camp. They 
were like so many exquisite gems, found ready 
cut and polished in a desert of rocks; and the 
whole camp quickly turned out to admire the 
exquisite creatures at short range. 
Table showing Percentages of Principal Elements of Food of the Butcher-Bird and 
Loggerhead Shrike, calculated by volume. 
By Sylvester D. Judd, United States Biological Survey, Bulletin No. 9. 
Name. 
Vertebrates. 
Invertebrates. 
Mammals. 
Birds. 
Other 
Vertebrates. 
Grasshoppers 
and Crickets. 
Spiders. 
Wasps. 
Caterpillars 
and Moths. 
Ground Beetles. 
Other Beetles. 1 
' 1 
Month. 
No. of Stomachs. 
Butcher-Bird .... 
77 
23 
22 
55 
8 
3 
1 
6 
4 
1 
j-Dec., Jan. and Feb. 
33 
Loggerhead 
76 
24 
55 
14 
7 
13 
1 
2 
4 
6 
14 
Butcher-Bird .... 
77 
23 
46 
31 
9 
1 
3 
5 
3 
2 
j- March and April. 
17 
Loggerhead 
20 
80 
9 
9 
2 
24 
9 
4 
11 
14 
18 
16 
Do 
11 
89 
3 
8 
71 
3 
4 
7 
4 
May and June 
July, Aug. and Sept. 
17 
Do 
2 
98 
2 
67 
2 
4 
1 
5 
19 
22 
Butcher-Bird .... 
27 
73 
11 
16 
57 
4 
6 
4 
2 
j- October and Nov. 
17 
Loggerhead 
10 
90 
10 
50 
5 
7 
3 
13 
12 
19 
Butcher-Bird . . 
60 
40 
26 
34 
24 
3 
2 
6 
4 
1 
( Average Oct. to April, 
1 inclusive 
67 
Loggerhead . . . 
28 
72 
16 
8 
4 
39 
4 
3 
4 
9 
13 
j Average for the whole 
( year 
88 
The Great Northern Shrike is able to sing, but 
seldom does so; and many of his friends think 
he sings not at all. In summer it ranges all the 
way to Cook Inlet, Alaska, and in winter it mi- 
grates as far south as Virginia. In the south- 
ern states it meets the Loggerhead Shrike, and 
the two species so strongly resemble each other 
they are like two feathered Dromios. 
I think that the Bohemian Waxwing, when 
alive and in perfect plumage, is one of the most 
exquisite perching-birds I know. It is not gor- 
geous or resplendent; but in dainty prettiness 
of form, immaculateness of plumage, and deli- 
cate refinement in color-scheme combined, it 
has few equals. The red wax-like tip on the 
1 Am-pel'is gar-ru'lus. Length, 8 inches. 
