HAWKING. 
sparrows, and shortly afterwards would pitch down like a 
hawk, with its wings close to its body, seldom failing to obtain 
the object of its pursuit, which it would sometimes follow even 
through the briars and branches in which it sought refuge. 
“ When unable to secure its prey, it would re- ascend to its 
perch, and emit loud and discordant notes of anger. When- 
ever I could see it strike its victim, it appeared to alight on its 
back, and instantly strike its head, which I have several times 
found torn open.” 
It will be seen from the above, that the great shrike pos- 
sesses powers of imitation almost equal to the mocking-bird ; 
the one, however, exercises its leading faculty for its sport, the 
other in most terrible earnest. Hot only in imitative capacity 
does the butcher-bird resemble the mocking-bird ; its general 
appearance is likewise by no means unlike. Webber, the 
naturalist, relates a curious story of how, when a boy, he 
went “ nesting ” for mocking-birds, and, after a very long 
search, discovered what he thought, without doubt, was the 
wished-for treasure. He saw the parent birds skimming about 
a fence, and presently they betook themselves to a great oak- 
tree, and there, a long way up the big trunk, was a nest. 
“ Strange place for mocking-birds to build,” thought the young 
naturalist, “ but probably this is a new variety, preferring large 
trees.” 
“ With my heart in my throat, I leapt the fence, ran at full 
speed at the tree, stripped off my coat and boots, and, before 
I knew what I was doing, had ascended, as nimbly as a 
squirrel, the trunk of a tree that I would not have attempted 
to climb for a fortune, under any other circumstances. It was 
well that I did not stop to think, or I should never have 
reached the limbs. As it was, now that I found myself up, 
the difficulty of getting at the nest seemed as great as ever. 
The small limbs that bristled out from the great excrescence 
were as tough as they could be, and how I was to drag my 
body over them, so as to reach the nest, was the question ; but 
when, by rising on tiptoe, I could peep over the edges of the 
nest and see the heads and bright eyes of four lusty young 
birds, I literally tore my way through all obstructions, and 
grasped my treasure. I seized three, and the fourth sprang 
out in time to elude me, and sailed down. 
“ Just at this moment, I saw my old friend approaching, to 
see what I could be at. I shrieked out to him in my tribu- 
lation, for the little wretches had bitten my hand so severely, 
260 
