proprmte name of Butcherbird. Lamm. Selecting a station on a H or decayed brand., it sall.es forth ...
pursuit of insects which happen to pass n e a r; and it is probably from its remaining so perched for a long
time that it has obtained the name of emiiitor, or the Sentinel—although another mode of accounting for
this appellation lias reference to its being employed on the Continent in trapping Hawks, when, being fastened
to the ground, it apprises the falconer, by its loud screams, o f tlie approach o f a bird. Its flight is undulated,
or performed in a waving lin e; and when searching for prey it occasionally hovers in the manner of a Hawk.
Although it is generally represented as carrying its prey in its bill, it appears that it sometimes employs its
feet for that purpose. . . Its ordinary notes resemble the syllables m e , wee, pronounced loudly and sharply,
and in anger it screams like a Hawk; but it emits various sounds, and is said to imitate the notes and cries
of many of the smaller birds for the purpose of attracting them. On the continent it places its nest,
which is very large, in the fork of a branch at a considerable height from the ground, forming it of
moss and stems of dry grass, and lining it with wool and hair. The eggs are from live to eight in
number, of a greyish-white, marked toward the larger end with spots of reddish-brown and greyish-purple ;
their length is an inch and two twelfths; and their greatest diameter ten twelfths. They defend their nest
against Crows and Hawks with admirable courage and skill, so as to put to flight birds possessed of ten
times their s tren g th ; and their affection for their yoong corresponds with the ardour of their temper, as
appears to be generally the case in animals. After the young come abroad, they remain with their parents
until the commencement of the pairing-season.
“ Although individuals have been found with us at all times o f the year, it has not been observed to breed
in this country. It is not uncommon in France, where it remains all the year, generally keeping to the
woods in summer and autumn, but approaching inhabited places in winter, and thus appearing to be more
numerous at that season. I t is found as far south as Spain and Italy, and extends northward to Sweden,
Russia, Norway, and Lapland, but leaves those countries a t the approach of winter. In England its
migrations are very irregular. It has been killed in Suffolk in-January, April, May, and J u ly ; in Norfolk
in the autumn ; and one frequented a thick thorn hedge near Mr. Hoy’s house a t Higham, in December, but
was so shy, that it could not be approached within gun-shot. On examining the hedge, Mr. Hoy found
three frogs and as many mice, spitted on the thorns. He therefore set six very small steel traps, each
baited with a mouse. On the following day two o f the traps were found sprung, and the bait gone. By
watching in concealment, Mr. Hoy soon afterwards observed the Shrike d art down to a bait perpendicularly,
but not quick enough to escape, as it was caught by two o f its toes. The bird was carried alive to the
house and placed in a room in which a thorn bush was fixed, and some mice given to i t ; one of which it
was observed, through a hole, to spit upon a thorn with the greatest quickness and adroitness.”
A writer in the ‘ N aturalist ’ says:—“ I can testify to the power assigned to this bird by some naturalists of
varying its notes, o r rather imitating those o f other birds. Not exactly, indeed; for my first acquaintance
with the Butcherbird was occasioned by my hearing notes not entirely familiar to me, though much
resembling those o f the Stonechat. Following the sound, I soon discovered the u tte re r; and while listening,
to my surprise, the original notes were discarded and others adopted of a softer and more melodious
character, never, however, prolonged to anything like a continuous song. Its grave ash-coloured garb, with
its peculiar black patch on the cheek, soon convinced me th at my unknown friend was the Butcherbird, that
petty tyrant of its neighbourhood, carrying on incessant warfare and wanton waste of life amongst the small
fry of the Passerine order, and whose war-cry was wont to put all minor warblers to flight.”
To the above I would add that the materials o f which the nest is formed appear to vary according to the
nature of the country in which it is b u ilt; thus the late Mr. Wheelwright describes a nest taken by himself
in Lapland as one of the warmest and most comfortable he had ever seen, being large and deep, built
outwardly of dead fir branches, and lined with a very thick layer o f the pure-white feathers of the Willow-
Grouse.
The male has the head and upper surface clear g re y ; line across the forehead and over the eye white ;
lores and moustache-like streak on the side of the head black; wings black, with the exception o f the bases
of the primaries and secondaries and the tips o f all but the first four primaries, which are white ; upper tail-
coverts and all the under surface wh ite; three outer tail-feathers white, except the basal portion of the
shaft, which is black ; remainder o f the tail-feathers black, tipped with white, which lessens in extent as the
feathers approach the c en tre ; upper mandible brownish black, margined with yellowish grey a t the b a s e ;
lower mandible yellowish grey, brownish black at the t i p ; irides dark brown; feet brownish black.
The difference in the female has been pointed out above.
The young have the upper parts brownish g r e y ; tail-coverts faintly barred with dusky; wings and tail
blackish brown. As the birds advance in age the upper surface becomes o f a purer grey, the under surface
white, and the wings and tail darker.
The Plate represents an adult male. The Shrew on the thorn is the Sorex araneus, Linn.