Show THE BUTCHER BIRD ME KILLS FOR PLEASURE AND PUTS HIS VICTIMS OUT TO DRY tie banfi ulrie and on A veritable terror ot the woodad horn a well aj murderer 1 half breed idea no bird native to this country ia so little known and surely none such striking habits of life the shrike or butcher bird is a member of a family comprising somo species of which only one well defined subfamily ie resident in north america bold daring handsome ho is at buco the braggart and tho beau of tho wooda at a little distance a southerner would readily mistake him for the mocking bird his bluish gray plumage tail tipped with white and broad lincic patch each eyo civo him a trim jaunty air quite pleasing to the eye but alas dreaded object to smaller and weaker birds his habitat is northern north america and though ho breeds in tho high ground of new england and new york ho grows more common after the canadian line ia crossed the is a born tyrant not content with killing and devouring all sn elects largo enough to attract his fancy he attacks snakes moles mico and small birds whenever opportunity offers his disposition is as unlovable at home as abroad for beldom aro two or more seen together bat they are engaged in an ugly family quarrel they anro truly carnivorous ni vorous and except for certain weaknesses of bano and muscle would rank truo balds of prey tharo ia ono strange uncanny characteristic act however which this woodland bully from all known birds naturalists have watched it studied it pondered over it and written long pages of inexplicable explanations of it and common people havo doubted in their superstition or ignorance igno ranco whether it was the doing of a bird cr a demon in bird form today it remains as deep a mystery as it was years ago this is tho puzzle the butcher bird in his riotous love of killing slays many more victims than ho baa any possible anso for seems to do it for the nacre fun of tho thing instead of leaving the dead however he carries them one by ono to soilo thorny fedgo or tree and there impales them in all sorts of fantastic positions in the branches it gives ono a start to come out of n piece of woods when gunning and see a thorn tree laden with a ghastly crop of locusts boada sparrows grass snake lizards and chipmunks if tho shrike ever returned to feed upon his grim hoard there would bo an explanation of his conduct and ho would bo credited with the epicurean of a thoroughbred vulture who a bit gamy but such is not the case tho weird fruit hangs for days upon tho limbs and if hawks or crows do not find and steal it it will rot until only a few tiny abito skeletons remain to tell of tho massacre comparatively few dwellers in the backwoods know this eccentricity of the butcher bird and hanco arise many curious and apparently well authenticated stories of trees that catch birds in their branches and of storms that rained down toads and lizards so that tho trees full of them the butcher bird is a born friot as well as a murderer and often meets bis death whilo hopelessly endeavoring to kill and carry off a tame pet bird from a cago or to rob a hunters cabin of fresh meat any tidbit he finds he will steal cucu it only to suspend it from a locust bough hard by tho canadian fur traders and trappers him heartily and never loso a chanco to kill him thoralf breed whisky joe and claim ho is half drunk all the time ond benco does these foolish things will spy out tho most carefully hidden trap and always manage to purloin the bait without being caught the wild country north of tho groat lakes is a favorite of these butchers and tho indians who bunt and sell fura to the hudson bay company complain bitterly of tho depredations of whisky joe the ehrike builds a bulky somewhat elaborate nest of heavy sticks below and upon this foundation a warm covering of bark leaves and grass is laid it is usually in some low tree and tho eggs which aro somewhat smaller than a pig eone anro decidedly pretty they are of a gi ayish green mottled specked and scratched with reddish brown tho young begin their education by wrangling and fighting aa soon as hatched in which diversion their fond parents beet them striking and perpetual examples now york world |