The Monticellonian., 1895-08-23
THE suToHER BIRD.
Brave Fellow That Has Been Greatly
 Slandered.

! A Brave Fellow That Has been ofOH"J
 slandered.
 The manners of the shrike are as fine as one would expect from so distin- i guished-iooking parsonage, dignihed, reposefG and unusually silent, l have seen him, once or twice, hirt his half i opened tail and jerk his wings, but he rarely showed even so much impatience or restlessness He sat on the fence and regarded me, or he drove away an intrusive neighbor, with the same calm and serious air with which he did every thing I have heard Of pranks and fantistic performances, of strange, un- couth and absurd cries, and of course, it is impossible to say what Vagaries he might have indulged in if he had thought himself unobserved, but in many hours and days of close study of i this bird I saw nothing of the kind. The only utterance l heard from him, excepting his song, of which l will speak presently, was rattling cry with which he pursued an intruder, and soft, coaxing ''yeap" when he came to the nest and found his mate absent.
 One of the most prominent traits of this bird, as we find him depicted in l the books and the popular writings, is 1 his quarrelsome and cruel disposition; and "brigand," ," assassin, murderer" and "butcher" are names commonly applied to him
 i I watched the shrike several hours daily for weeks, and from the first l was every moment on the alert for the i cIs 1f fhaca aha~- acteristics; and what did 1 find out? 1 First, as to his quarrelsome disposition, 1 his unfriendliness with his own species. i I have already spoken of the amiable l association, in the very nesting tree, of half dozen of the birds, as reported 1 by trustworthy and experienced ob- server. On one occasion, somewhat later, saw an exhibition of similar friendliness among four adult shrikes. They were frolicking about another thorn tree in the same pasture, in the same peaceful manner; and while looked one of them picked up a tid-bit from the ground and flew to the nest 1 was watching, thus proving that the nesting bird was one of the group. At least twice after ward, when silently i CT shrikes hopping about with the one was studying, on the ground, almost under the tree. On my appearing the strangers flew, and the nest owner went up to his mate with an offering We do not think of calling the robin or bluebird particular ly quarrelsome, yet fancy one of these birds allowing an- other of his species to come to his home treel Every close observer of bird ways knows that it is apparently the first article in the avian creed to keep every other bird away from the nest.
 And how did the terrible "brigand" treat his neigh hbors? The robin, in- deed, he drove away, but meadow larks sang and 'sputtered' at their pleasure, not only beside him on the fence, but on his own small tree gold fnches flew over, singing and calling, and no notice was taken of them; sparrows hopped about among the branches of the thorn at their discre- tion; a chickadee one day made search ing examination of nearly every twig and leaf, going close to and over the nest, where the sitting bird must have seen him, yet not peep arose Some- times, when madam left her nest for refreshments, she would sweep by bird who happened to be on the tree, thus making him fly, but she never followed or showed any special inter est in him Whatever other shrikes may be or do, at least this pair, and the three or four others who visited them, were amiable with their neigh bors. small as well as great.
 If bravery is a virtue-and why is it not, in feathers as well as in broad cloth?-the shril1e should stand high in our estimation, for he does not hesi. tate to attack and make his prey ami mals which few birds of his size dare touch; not only mice, but creatures as well armed as gophers and others.
 was particularly desirous to hear the song of the shrike. He is not classed with singing birds, and is not, think, usually credited with being musical. But Thoreau speaks of his song, and others mention it. John Burroughs tells of shrike singing In his vicinity in winter, "a crude broken warble'-"s "saluting the sun as a robin might have done.' Winter, indeed, SeeInS to be HIS CuOSbu llne TOT SluR- ing and an ornithologist in St. Albans says that in that season he sings by the hour in the streets Of the town.
 Therefore did I sit unobtrusively on the near side of the thorn tree, leav- ing the birds their screen, to encour- age them to sing; and at last had my reward One very hot day did not reach my place under the maple till after nine o'clock, and l found the shrike, as ! frequently did, on the fence, on guard. In q few moments, when I had become quiet, he went to the nest, and sitting there on the edge, hidden from my distinct view, he con- descended to sing. low, sweet song, truly musical, though simple in con- struction, being merely a single clear note followed by trili several tones higher After delivering this attrac- tive lit.le aria dozen or more tones, he flew out of the tree and yer my head, and sang no more.
 
 b%