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the ftyle of that matter, in his firft works, to a degree of 
illufion. As lie advanced in practice he caft a bolder eye 
on nature, and, by equal vigour of conception and exe¬ 
cution, proved to the firtt artifts of Milan, that, like Fer¬ 
rari, he was born for grand fubjefts; fuch is that of St. 
Catarini, near S. Celfo ; the face and attitude of the he¬ 
roine anticipate the graces of Guido; the colour of the 
whole approaches the tones of Titian ; the glory of the 
angels rivals Gaudenzio; a lefs neglected Ityle of drapery 
would have left little to with for. Among his copious 
works at Milan, and in its diltridts, the dome of Novara 
claims diftinguilhed notice. There he painted thofe Sy¬ 
bils, and that femblance of the eternal Father, fo much 
admired by Lomazzo; and near them certain fubjedts from 
the life of the Virgin, which even now, in a ruined Hate 
of colour, enchant by fpirit and evidence of defign. His 
verlatile talent indulged fometimes in imitations of Leon¬ 
ardo da Vinci ; and, at the Bafilica of St. Ambrogio, the 
figure of Chrift between two angels, in form, exprellion, 
and eft'efl, fully proves with what felicity he penetrated 
the principles of that genius. Fufeli's Pithing ton. 
LAN'ISCAT, a town of France, in the department of 
the North Coalts: eight miles eaft of Roftrenen, and 
twelve fouth-weft of Quintin. 
LANIS'CHLE, a town of Iftria : fixteen miles fouth- 
eatt of Capo d’lftria. 
LANIS'TA,/. in antiquity, is fometimes ufed to fignify 
an executioner, but more frequently for a matter gladia¬ 
tor, who taught the ufe of arms: thele had always people 
under them ready to exhibit (liows of that kind ; for 
which purpofe they either purchafed gladiators, or edu- 
ated children that had been expofed in that art. La- 
nitta was alfo ufed to denote one who taught gamecocks 
to fight. 
LA'NIUS,/T in ornithology, the Shrike, or Butcher¬ 
bird ; the laft genus of the order of accipitres, or rapacious 
birds. Generic characters—Bill rather ttraight, with a 
tooth, or notch, on each mandible near the end; the bafe 
naked ; and the tongue jagged at the tip. To thefe cha- 
rafters, attigned by Gmelin after Linnaeus, may be added, 
that the noftrils are generally round, and covered with 
ftiff briftles. Dr. Latham farther obferves, that the birds 
of this genus are not furnifhed with a cere at the bafe of 
the bill, and that the middle toe is connected to the next 
as far as the firft joint. Laftly, according to Scopoli, the 
fegments of the (kin are feven in number. 
Linnaeus, in the various editions of his Syftema Naturae 
and other w.orks, has referred this genus of birds to feve- 
ral diftindt families, having fometimes placed it with the 
chatterers, fometimes with the titmice, and then again, 
from its habits of rapacity, with the accipitres, in which 
laft-mentioned order it ftands in the Gmelinian edition of 
that author's publication. Before the time of Linnaeus, 
our countryman, Ray, had claffed this tribe among the 
(hort-winged hawks: Button alfo had arranged it after the 
falcons; but Britton, on the contrary, includes them with 
the thrulhes and the chatterers, two analogous genera, 
obvioufly belong to the order pafferes. Kramer intro¬ 
duces it under the patterine order; Scopoli under the pies; 
and Pennant, in his Genera of Birds, with the accipitres; 
from which, however, he removes it to the order picse, in 
a fubfequent edition. In Latham’s Synopfis, and alfo in 
his Index Ornithologicus, the example of Scopoli is fol¬ 
lowed ; the ftirikes are difpofed at the head of the order pi- 
cse, and this arrangement has obtained the fanftion of the 
French ornithologifts. But we think there is great reafon 
to concur in the accuracy of Gmelin, who incorporates 
them with the accipitres; for they are allied to the owls 
and falcons by the ftrength and crookednefs of the bill, 
and by their predatory life; to the Piece by the form of 
$heir toes, the ftiape of their tail, and their capacity of 
feeding upon infects, when there is a deficiency of flefli. 
Thefe birds inhabit every climate, the arftic regions ex¬ 
cepted. There are fixty-nine fpecies, befides varieties. 
Thefe birds are eafily diftinguiflied, even at a dittar.ee, 
Voi. XII. -No. 8aj. 
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by their attociating together in families,' after the young 
are capable of flight. In tins refpect, they differ remark¬ 
ably from the other predatory tribes, who generally banifli 
from the nett their young while they are yet incapable of 
providing for themfelves. The female butcher-bird pro* 
vides for her young with the molt affectionate care ; (lie 
at firft feeds them with infects, and afterwards accuftoms 
them to fmall morfels of flefti, which the male fupplie» 
with wonderful attention. When the offspring grows up, 
the parental regards do not ceafe ; the old affociate with 
the young during the whole autumn and winter, without 
aflembling in larger flocks. They make the fafety of the 
family a common intereft ; they live together in peace, 
and chafe their prey in concert. It is only the powerful 
call of love that breaks the ties of this family-attachment, 
and feparates the young from their parents to rear families 
of their own. 
Though of a fmall fize, and apparently flender in the 
form of their body and limbs, thele birds have a juft claim 
to be ranked among the rapacious tribes, and even among 
the mod bold and languinary of that order. Theft bills 
are large, ftrong, and hooked at the end ; their appetite 
for flefli is decidedly afeertained, and they are perhaps the 
molt fierce of all birds. One is aftonifhed to witnefs the 
intrepidity with which a fmall butcher-bird maintains the 
conflict againft the pies, crows, hawks, and other animals 
far beyond it in fize. Not only does he engage in felf* 
defence, but often alfo attacks, and almolt always with 
fuccefs, efpecially when the pair unite in driving thefe 
hoftile tribes from their young. He waits not till they 
approach ; it fuffices that they pafs within his view ; for, 
as often as they do, he intercepts them, and falls upon 
them with loud cries ; cruelly wounds, and beats them 
off with fuch fury, that they feldom venture to return. 
In this unequal combat, it is feldom he fuccumbs to fu- 
perior ftrength, or allows hirnfelf to be carried off; his 
own death, or that of his adverfary, puts an end to the 
conteft ; and they are fometimes, after their battles, feen 
to fall together upon the fame field. 
The manner in which they deftroy their prey is almoft, 
if not entirely, peculiar to themfelves, and evinces a de¬ 
gree of addrefs and cruelty that has not unaptly obtained 
them the name of butcher-birds. After pouncing upon 
their deftined viCfim, which they ufually feize upon in a 
defencelefs ttate, while young, and in the neft, they bear 
it away to fome thorny bud), and by the dint of dexte¬ 
rity force it upon one of the ftouteft and (harped fpines ; 
after which they proceed to tear the yet living creature 
into pieces, feparating its mangled remains by the aflift- 
ance of their bill and talons, and difperfing on different 
fpines of the bufli fuch remnants of the flefli, after being 
for the prefent fatisfied, as are referved for future meals. 
In this manner, thefhrike tribe alfo treat the larger kinds 
of infeCls, as well as birds. In the feventh volume of 
TranfaClions of the Philadelphia Society, the (hrike’s fix¬ 
ing grafshoppers upon thorns is accounted for upon the 
principle of enticing fmaller birds to feed upon them, that 
the flirike may then furprife the birds. The Germans in 
America call the flirike neun-toedter, nine-killer. The fol¬ 
lowing is an extract from this curious paper. 
“ I went to a farm, about eleven miles and a half from 
this place, to view a young orchard, which had been 
planted about five weeks ago under my direftion; where, 
on viewing the trees, I found, to my great aftonifliment, 
almoft on every one of them one, and on fome two and 
three, grafshoppers, ftuck down on the (harp thorny 
branches, which were not pruned when the trees were 
planted. I immediately called the tenant, and afked the 
reafon and his opinion of this. He was much furprifed 
at my ignorance about the matter, and informed me, that 
thefe grafshoppers were ftuck lip by a fmall bird of prey, 
which the Germans called ncun-tnedter, (in Englifn, nine- 
killer ;) that this bird had a practice of catching and 
flicking up pine grafshoppers a-day; and that, as he well 
knew they did not devour the grafshoppers, nor any other 
3 H infefts. 
