Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-15

chfckadee, a goldfinch or some other
feathered tid-bit flies by, and then the
loggerhead gets after 1t In full chase
Unless the quarry can reach the cover
Of a thicket the shrike SEXES II.
strikes its beak through the skull and
then bears the victim to a tree. where
the murderer feasts on brains.
After appeasing it's appetite the
shirke hangs the body of its victim
in the crotch of two small branches or
impales it upon a thorn. What tho
bird does this for is hard to tell, for IL
rarely returns to the quarry. The log
gerhead isn't bad through and
through however: 1t eats thousands
Of the larger insects during its nest
ing season, and kills all the small
snakes in sight, though this latter act
perhaps cannot be put down as serv.
ice, for small snakes have their place
in the ecenomoy of nature and aid
man in many ways.
The loggerhead usually builds In q
thorn tree, the smaller locusts, the
thorn apple and the Usage orange be-
ing favorite demonstrating sites. It
makes butcher shop Of the tree.
hanging up its bird, snake and big
insect victims like so many carcasses
in meat market. I once found q log,
gerheads nest containing young in an
Usage orange tree. A small! green
snake had been impaled upon thorn
and its body nearly touched the nest.
AS the weather was hot the effect
could not have been pleasant to sen.
sitive organs of smell. but I some.
! times doubt II some birds know what
odor is. II they do they can stand
much in the way OF things offensive.
The Maryland yellow throat, gem
of bird. frequently builds its nest
within the leaves of skunk cabbage.
There is much better opportunity
to watch the predatory habits of the
great northern shrike than there ia
| to observe those of the loggerhead.
The northern bird is with us in win.
ter, and hunger drives him into the
cities, where he carries on the lauda-
BILE work Of killing English sparrows.
One Of these birds daily visited q tree
in front of my window overlooking a
busy city street. Almost invariably
he caught a sparrow. Once after
he had struck Q victim it ca.
capped from him and fell Huttering to
a. snow bank. l picked up the spar.
row and killed 1t to put 1t out of its
misery. 1t had clean, round hole
in its skull. How the shrike made
such perfect circle with its hooked
beak has been puzzling question to
this day.
On another occasion witnessed q
bit Of shrike strategy. The bird knew
apparently that the crevices in the
cornice Of big city building az.
forded retreats for the sparrows. It
flew along the cornice futter1ng it's
wings and literally beating the COW
erts." A frightened sparrow few QUO
and the shrike gave chase. The spar
row zigzagged in its flight, bothering
Its pursuer not little. The shrike
"overran" the sparrow time after
time, but finally seized 1t just az 1t
reached the edge Of thick bush, in
the heart Of which it would have been
safe. The victim was killed and its
brains were eaten with an appetite
sharpened by the chase. The shrike
is smaller bird than the robin. It
i sings we'll and it is hard to account
, for its predatory habits.
| Something was said recently about
, q goldfinch which sheltered its yonns
from the heat OF the sun by spread.
Ing Its wings and forming feathered
, canopy over the nest. DR.. Dearborn,
4 Continued on Page TEMP