[28.] 1. L a n iu s b o r e a l i s . (Vieillot.) Greater Northern Shrike.
Family. Laniadae. Sub-family. Lanianas. Swainson.
Lanius excubitor. F or ster . Phil. Trans., lxii., p. 386, No. 9.
Lanius borealis. Yie il l o t . Ois. de VAm., i., p. 80, pi. 50. Female.
Great American Shrike. (Lanius excubitor.) W il so n , i., p. 75, pi. 5, f. i. Male.
Sab in e. FranJcl. Joum., p. 674.
No. 39, H udson’s B ay Museum. Male.
W awpotv-whiskae janneesh, or Meesbeb wappisk ktechawn. Cree I ndians.
P late x x x iii. F em a le.
This is by no means an uncommon bird in the woody districts of the fur-
countries, up to the sixtieth parallel of latitude, if not still farther north. It is most
frequent on the banks of the Saskatchewan, where it is usually seen on the borders
of the plains, or in the vicinity of a small lake, perched on the summit of a tree.
Its general resemblance to the C onus Canadensis has obtained for it its Indian
appellation of “ White-whiskey john;” but, unlike that bird, it chooses the
loftiest look-out it can find, instead of hopping about among the lower branches
of a tree. It is very wary, flying off when one approaches nearly within gunshot,
but settling again on an equally exposed perch after a short flight. In this way
it may be pursued two or three times round any small piece of water, until, instead
of growing more shy, it becomes less so, and allows the fowler to come too near
for its safety. Its voice is a loud and rather harsh scream. It feeds on insects
and small birds, which it retains with its foot while it plucks them in pieces with
its bill. Birds of this genus have the habit of spitting insects on a thorn, as a
butcher would skewer a piece of meat, whence their appellation of “ Butcherbirds;”
but no instance of this fell under my notice. Individuals killed at
Carlton House early in May had their crops filled with the fragments of grasshoppers.
It remains all the winter in the fur-countries, but is much more frequently
seen in summer. Its nest is built in the fork of a tree, of dry grass and lichens,
neatly intertwined and lined with feathers. The eggs, five or six in number, are
of a pale bluish-grey, spotted at the large end irregularly with dark yellowish-
brown. Like the other species of this genus and of Tyram us, this Shrike attacks the
Eagles, Crows, and other large birds, when they approach its haunts, and, by its
fierceness and perseverance, drives them away.—R.