422 
SHRIKES 
tion; their proverbially gentle, refined ways make them seem superior 
creatures of the air to whom he can but yield his affection. 
I shall never forget a pair that I once found by a clear mountain 
lake. They were perched upon two evergreen spires that guarded a 
silent bay, whose dark water was gilded by the lingering light of the 
setting sun. Florence Merriam Bailey. 
1905. Herrick, F. H., Home Life of Wild Birds, 36-38; 86-102. — 1911. 
Saunders, A. A., Auk, XXVIII, 323-329 (nesting). 
56. Family Laniid^i Shrikes. (Fig. 68.) 
The number of species ascribed to this family by different authors 
varies widely, few agreeing as to exactly what subfamilies should be 
admitted. The true Shrikes, however, of the subfamily Laniince, num- 
bering seventy-seven species, are a well-defined group, of which only 
two occur in the New World. Their habits, in the main, conform to 
those of our species. 
621. Lanius borealis Vieill. Northern Shrike. Ads . — Upperparts 
gray; wings and tail black; primaries white at the base, secondaries tipped 
with white or grayish; outer, sometimes all, the tail-feathers tipped with 
white, the outer feather mostly white; forehead whitish; lores grayish black; 
ear-coverts black; underparts white, generally finely barred with black; bill 
hooked and hawklike. Im. — Similar, but entire plumage, more or less 
heavily barred or washed with grayish brown. L., 10*32; W., 4*55; T., 4*00; 
B. from Ni, *55. 
Range. — N. N. Am. Breeds in the Hudsonian zone and locally in the 
Canadian from NW. Alaska, n. Mackenzie, and n. Ungava to the 
base of the Alaska Peninsula, cen. Sask., s. Ont., and s. Que.; winters s. to 
cen. Calif., Ariz., N. M., Tex., Ky., and Va. 
Washington, rare and irregular W. V., Oct. -Feb. Ossining, tolerably 
common W. V., Oct. 26-Apl. 17. Cambridge, common W. V., Nov. 1-Apl. 
1. N. Ohio, not common W. V., Nov. 6-Apl. 3. Glen Ellyn, not common 
W. V., Oct. 24.-June 5. SE. Minn., common W. V., Oct. 17-Mch. 28. 
Nest, of twigs, grasses, etc., in low trees or bushes. Eggs, similar in color 
to those of L. ludovicianus , 1*05 x *76. Date , Ft. Anderson, Mack., June 11. 
This bird may be known at once by his colors — gray, black, and 
white, — by the consternation his appearance causes among the Spar- 
rows, and by his peculiar flight, which is steady and straightforward, 
with much flapping, and close to the ground till he nears his intended 
perch, which is reached at the last moment by a sudden upward 
turn. 
He is so well known as a bird of hawklike, sanguinary character 
that most students are astonished when they find out that toward 
springtime he develops into a vocalist of no mean powers. Often in 
the warm days of March he may be heard singing on the top of some 
tall tree, a song that would do credit to a Catbird — indeed, it recalls 
strongly that loquacious songster. He is, I think, a better singer than 
his southern cousin, but resembles him in habitually impaling his prey 
on a thorn, a fence barb, or a forked twig. His food consists chiefly 
