BIRDS. 177 
thrush; its bill is black, an inch long, and hooked at the 
end. It is only an occasional visitor to this country, 
where it is generally found between autumn and spring. 
"The Shrike," says Mr. Yarell, "feeds on mice, shrews, 
small birds, frogs, lizards, and large insects. After having 
killed its prey, it fixes the body in a forked branch, or 
upon a sharp thorn, the more readily to tear off small 
pieces from it. It is from their habit of killing and hanging 
up their meat, that the Shrikes are called Butcher-birds." 
The head, back, and rump are ash-coloured ; the chin and 
lower part of the body white ; the breast and throat 
varied with dark lines, crossing each other; the tips of 
the feathers of the wings are, for the most part, white ; it 
has a black spot by the eye ; the utmost feathers of the 
male are all over white ; the two middlemost have only 
their tips white, the rest of the feathers being black, as 
well as the legs and feet. It builds its nest among thorny 
shrubs and dwarf trees, and furnishes it with moss, wool, 
and downy herbs, where the female lays five or six eggs. 
A peculiarity belonging to the birds of this kind is, that 
they do not, like most other birds, expel the young ones 
from the nest, as soon as they can provide for themselves, 
but the whole brood live together in one family. The 
Butcher-bird will chase all the small birds upon the wing, 
and will sometimes venture to attack partridges, and even 
young hares. Thrushes and blackbirds are frequently 
attacked, and the Shrike will sometimes fix on them with 
its talons, split the skull with its bill, and feed on them at 
leisure. On this account Linnaeus classed the Shrikes 
with the birds of prey ; but modern naturalists have placed 
them with the insect-eaters, as insects are their principal 
food . It is easy to distinguish these birds at a distance, not 
only from their going in companies, but also from their 
manner of flying, which is always up and down, seldom 
in a direct line, or obliquely. 
