Why do Shrikes Hang Up their Food? 
I have often seen lizzards, grasshoppers, 
etc., impaled on thorns or securely wedged 
in the forks of some twig, by Shrikes ; but 
as far as I am aware, no one has satisfac- 
torily explained why this is done. 
The Shrikes are rather dainty in eating 
and never, I believe, bolt their food entire. 
Even grasshoppers and other small prey 
are lodged in forks of limbs and torn into 
pieces before being eaten. 
Now in eating a bird or mouse, the 
Shrike cannot use its weak legs to secure 
the prey, while tearing it to pieces with the 
powerful beak, after the manner of Hawks ; 
and so it must resort to some artificial 
means of holding its prey. I once kept a 
Shrike in confinement. On the bottom of 
the cage I placed a few small limbs for a 
perch. For food I gave it the bodies of 
birds as fast as I skinned them. When 
one was placed in the cage, the Shrike 
would take it in its bill, carry it to the 
limbs and placing it securely in a forked 
branch would brace itself with its feet on 
one of the limbs and tear off small bits and 
eat them; thus showing that the object in 
placing the prey in the fork was to secure 
it in a steady position. — A. L. Parkhurst. 
San Jose, Cal, Q.&Q, IX^DeOUSS i. p. / 3 tf* 
Correspondence. 
More Facts on the Shrike Question. 
Editors of O. it- O. : 
Have taken four Grea t Northern Shrikes 
this past winter. The stomach of one con- 
tainerl a small grasshopper in addition to a 
good sized “wad” of hair and bones. The 
[stomachs of the other three contained the 
“wad” of hair and bones, but no insects. On 
March 2-1, 1890, (the last shrike of the winter), 
I observed a shrike take a small snake about 
twelve to eighteen inches long; I chased him 
from tree to tree, but could not get a shot at 
him. At last he dropped the snake and I took it. 
The head of snake was gone and a fair part of 
body also. Ton inches of the tail part re- 
mained. All these facts are noted in a winter 
exceptionally mild, notably so in this section. 
’’ P » r+7f (j_ a, Maxfield. 
o.&o. xv.Mw 
Object of the Shrike in Impaling its Prey.— I see that in Coues’s ‘Key 
to North American Birds’ it is said to be still a puzzle to know what the 
Shrike intends bv sticking insects and small animals on thorns. The 
explanation seems easy enough to me, and I give it for what it is worth. 
The Shrike, like many other birds and animals of prey, seems inclined 
to kill as long as there is opportunity, regardless of being able to use. 
The Shrike, not being fitted in daws or beak for tearing, as Hawks are, 
1 think fixes its prey on thorns for the purpose of giving it a greater pur- 
chase in tearing it to pieces. I have been watching them often lately 
along the line of the railroad where they make use of the barbs on the 
wire' fences for impaling the large grasshoppers they seem mostly to feed 
on. I often see them catch three or four in succession, but I think they 
rarely use more than one, and grasshoppers being so plentiful at this 
season I do not think that Shrikes ever come back to them, though they 
may do so in winter.— James Whyte, Houston, Texas. 
Auk, 4, Jan., 1887. p. J J , 
“ Food of the Great Northern 
Shrike.” 
BY HORACE G. SMITH, JR., DENVER, COL. 
As Information on this point has been asked 
for by the readers of the O. & O. a few notes 
from Colorado will not be out of place, 
Two species of Shrike are found at Denver — 
the one Lanins borealis , the other his cousin the 
White rumped Shrike. ( L . ludovicianus excubi- 
torides) . 
The former occurs as a winter resident — the 
latter as a summer resident. 
Though I have examined the stomach con- 
tents of few specimens, I have found that small 
winter birds form no small desideratum in their 
bill of fare. As your correspondent says, this 
may be partly owing to a scarcity of insect 
food at this season, for in the fall wheu the 
Shrikes first arrive, and as long as insects can 
be found they feed upon them. 
I have found the indigestible portions of 
grasshoppers, beetles, and small birds all in the 
same specimen. 
When I first saw the plate in Audubon’s 
“ Birds of America,” representing a Shore Lark 
captured by a Shrike I was somewhat surprised 
that so large a bird should fall a victim to him, 
but since then I have had several oppor- 
tunities to observe his actions towards this 
species, and in fact this is the only bird I have 
actually seen him capture. 
In cold weather — -especially if snow is on the 
ground — Shore Larks and Longspurs gather in 
large flocks on the fallow fields, grown up to 
rank weeds, and in such localities one or two 
Shrikes may usually be seen perched upon tree 
or fence. Suddenly one flies across the field, 
low- over the feeding flock, singles out his victim, 
strikes and carries him in his claws to some 
convenient perch. But this species is not the 
only one preyed upon in this locality. 
Some authors have said that owing to his 
small size and harmless appearance he gains 
tlie confidence of his victims and they suspect , 
nothing until the final capture is effected. 
While this is doubtless correct to a certain 
extent, my own observations go to show that 
the small birds soon learn to know this “wolf 
in sheep's clothing” as their enemy. I have , 
164 ■ OKN4TH 
referred to (his in a former volume of the 
O. & O. in the case of Cassin’s Purple-finch and 
have observed it among Western tree sparrows, 
Juncos, Goldfinches and other winter birds. 
I call to mind an instance of a common Gold- 
finch chased by Borealis in which the pursued 
sought safety in flight over a treeless country. 
Several times the little Goldfinch was over- 
taken by his foe but eluded him by expert 
dodging. 
This continued until both were out of sight 
and I know not how it ended. 
In winter the small birds usually band to- 
gether in mixed flocks, usually containing 
several species, and the collector is often guided 
to them by the appearance of one or more 
Shrikes which hang around in the vicinity. 
Some writers in the O. & O. have mentioned 
the singing of this species and indeed he has a 
very pleasant song, especially if heard when 
woods are bare and other songsters are for the 
most part silent. 
The White rumped Shrike also has a number 
of pleasant notes which much resemble those 
of the Mocking bird. 
I believe the food of this species is almost 
entirely insects, though I once saw one which 
had captured a small lizard, common on the 
plains. 
The White rump is the only species which I 
have observed impaling insects on thorns. 
The barb-wire fences in this locality are very 
useful to him and it is not uncommon to find 
