210 LAN 
infers, lie thought they mull do it for pleafure. I afked 
him for a defcription of this bird, and was perfectly fatis- 
fied that it lived entirely on fmall animals, fuch as fmall 
birds, mice, &c. for I had paid attention to this bird as 
early as the year 1761, when, in the winter, one of the 
fame fpecies took a favourite little bird of mine out of my 
cage at the window ; from which time I have watched 
them more clofely, and have found them more numerous 
in the weftern country than here. Not being fatisfied 
with what the tenant had told me refpeQing the intention 
of the bird’s doing all this, (viz. for diverfion’s fake,) 
and particularly obferving each and every one of thel'e 
grafshoppers ftuck up fo regularly, and in their natural 
pofition as when on the ground, (fee Plate I.) not one of 
them having its back downwards, I began to conjecture 
what might be the real intention which the bird had in 
this; and my determined opinion was, that this little bird- 
bawk, by inftinCt, made ufe of this art, in order to decoy 
the fmaller birds, which feed on infeCts, and by thel'e 
means have a fair opportunity of catching them. All this 
I communicated to my friends on my return home, and 
they were not lefs altonifhed at what I had related to them, 
than I had been on difeovering the fad. It being agreed 
that one or more gentlemen of learning and observation 
jfhould more minutely examine into this matter, the pro¬ 
prietor of this farm, with another gentleman and myfelf, 
went this day out for the purpofe; and, viewing the grafs¬ 
hoppers on a number of thefe fmall trees, (fome of which 
we cut off and took home,) we returned to the tenant, 
who not only himfelf, but alfo his father and filler, gave 
us the bell alfurances, that they had, long lince, and from 
time to time, obferved this bird catching grafshoppers and 
flicking them up in the manner already related, and that 
fometimes they had obferved, in places where this fpecies 
of bird keeps, numbers of grafshoppers (luck upon a thorn- 
bulh in like manner. The reverend Mr. Velck is per¬ 
fectly fatisfied that this bird-hawk is the Lanius Canaden- 
fis, and has obligingly communicated the following ac¬ 
count of this little bird-hawk to me; it is extraCled from 
a German publication, printed at Goettingen, in 1778, 
under the title of “Natural Hillory for Children, by M. 
George-Chrillian Paff;” who, after giving a defcription of 
the different fpecies of this bird, concludes thus: “Why 
is this bird of prey called the nine-killer? Becaufe it is 
faid to have the habit of flicking beetles or other infeCts, 
and perhaps fometimes nine of them in fuccellion, upon 
thorns, that they may not efcape until he has leifure to 
devour them all at once. And for the fame reafon, it is 
fometimes called the thorn-flicker.” Now by the above 
account we fee, that it is known in Europe that this fame 
fpecies of bird actually does Hick up infeCts of different kinds 
on thorns, &c. but it isfuppofed they eat them immediate¬ 
ly after being ftuck up. Here the cafe is quite otherwife. 
They remain ftuck up, for we muft fuppofe thefe to have 
been ftuck up at lead fome weeks ago, and before the hard 
frofts fet in. The very birds (as we fuppofe) that had 
ftuck them up are now on the fame ground, watching the 
fmaller birds that came out to feed, and have been feen 
catching the, latter but a few days ago. If it were true, 
that this little hawk had ftuck them up for himfelf, how 
long would he be feeding on one or two hundred grafs¬ 
hoppers ? But, if it be intended to feduce the fmaller birds 
to feed on thefe infeCts, in order to have an opportunity 
©f catching them, that number, or even one half, or lefs, 
inay be a good bait all winter; and all of us, who have 
confidered thefe circumftances, are firmly of opinion, that 
thefe infeCts, thus ftuck up, are to ferve as a bait, &c. 
through the courfe of the winter.” 
Some of the butcher-birds migrate; thofe which remain 
in the country all the year inhabit the woods anc^ high 
mountains. The larger kinds build upon tall treesfdn the 
fork of a branch; the fmaller, in the hedges and thickets. 
They lay from fix to eight eggs, about the fize of thofe 
•f the thrufh, Th« nelt, upon the outfide* is compofed 
I u s. 
of white mofs, interwoven with blades of grafs 5 the infide 
is thickly lined with wool. 
Vaillant diftributes the fhrikes into three divifions* 
winch, though not hitherto done by any ornithologift, he 
fays is abfolutely neceflary, as they differ fo much that 
they might even be made three feparate genera. Though 
we do not adopt his fyltem, we lhall (late it. 
I. The firft divifion includes but five fpecies, two of 
which are common to moil part of Europe, and are found 
through all France. But the other two divifions contain 
no fpecies known in Europe; the other three quarters of 
the globe contain a great number, many of which have 
been confounded with other genera; fhrikes of the fecond 
divifion have been deferibed as blackbirds, and blackbirds 
placed among the fhrikes; and fometimes the fame fpecies 
has been given as a blackbird, and afterwards in the fame 
work as a fhrike. 
II. The fhrikes of the fecond divifion vary more by their 
habits and flight than by their fhape from thofe of the 
firft; yet, even in their outer conformation, there are many 
differences eafily to be perceived. The beak is longer, 
and not fo much arched ; the tarfus is longer; the wings 
fhorter, and not fo full; for, the primary wing-quills not 
making fo long an angle, the wing itfelf is more rounded 
at the end, and they do not fly fo well; they are in con- 
fequence not fo often obferved on the tops of high trees, 
which is one peculiar mark of difference between this di¬ 
vifion and the preceding. Indeed fome of the fpecies are 
entirely confined to thickets and low tufts of wood, where 
they carefully conceal themfelves, and feed moftly upon 
caterpillars, worms, and all forts of infefts. The weak- 
nefs of their wings hinders them from any flying-chafe 
and, if they catch birds, it is only very young ones, or 
fnch as are wounded. The firft divifion have the atti¬ 
tudes and port of the larger birds of prey, preferving an 
ereft pofture, on a bare branch, for hours together, and 
returning openly day after day to the fame place : while 
the fhrikes of the fecond divifion fhow themfelves but 
rarely: ever concealed in the thickeft tufts, they are known 
only by their warble, which betrays them continually. 
Being generally in motion, and not fixed to one fpot in 
watching their prey, their pofition is generally more in¬ 
clined; while thofe birds who remain along time perched 
in the fame place naturally take a more upright pofition, t© 
bring their body into a proper level, and not to tire their 
feet; for the body of a bird is much heavier towards the 
breaft-part than the belly. Thofe of the firft feftion watch 
their prey from the fummits of trees, and dart fuddenly 
upon all they can catch; but thefe are continually fearch- 
ing about with the greateft diligence among the bufhes- 
and coverts for a great extent, without fixing in any par¬ 
ticular fpot, except indeed when they are laying or fitting. 
_ III. The fpecies which compofe the third divifion of Af¬ 
rican fhrikes refemble thofe of the fecond in the fhape of 
their bill, which is longer and not fo arched as thofe in 
the firft divifion; at the fame time that they aflimilate in 
fome meafure to thofe of the firft, by having larger and 
more pointed wings than thofe of the fecond, fo that they 
can fife to the tops of the largeft trees, among the branches 
of which they feek for infects, which are their only food, 
as they never attack birds. They are found only in fo- 
refts, where, in fmall flocks, confiding each of a Angle fa¬ 
mily, they run over.all the trees to a confiderable extent 
of territory, not lying in ambufh for their prey, nor keep¬ 
ing to one favourite fpot, as remarked of the firft divifion. 
Their fong is lefs frequent. 
1. Lanius forficatus, the fork-tailed crefted fhrike. 
Specific charafler, tail forked ; frontal creft erefl; body 
greenifh-black. Creft fometimes wanting; tail long. In¬ 
habits the Cape, Madagafcar, and China ; ten inches long. 
a. Lanius coerulefcens, the fork-tailed fhrike: tail fork¬ 
ed ; body bluith black ; belly white. Edwards deferibes 
this bird in the following terms : The fhape of its bill,, 
the whifkers at its bafe," and the ftrength of ns legs, have 
3 indnc#d 
