. Birds of California; an introduction to more than three hundred common birds of the state and adjacent islands, with a supplementary list of rare migrants, accidental visitants, and hypothetical subspecies . of im-paling their prey on thorns or on the barbs of a wire fence ;but this is largely from necessity when the catch is eithermice or small birds, as the habits of the Shrikes in cap-tivity have proved that they must have some such wayof fastening raw meat before they can tear it. DUSKY, GRAY, AND SLATE-COLORED ,W7 He does destroy numbers of small birds eaeh year, andfor this we eondemn
. Birds of California; an introduction to more than three hundred common birds of the state and adjacent islands, with a supplementary list of rare migrants, accidental visitants, and hypothetical subspecies . of im-paling their prey on thorns or on the barbs of a wire fence ;but this is largely from necessity when the catch is eithermice or small birds, as the habits of the Shrikes in cap-tivity have proved that they must have some such wayof fastening raw meat before they can tear it. DUSKY, GRAY, AND SLATE-COLORED ,W7 He does destroy numbers of small birds eaeh year, andfor this we eondemn him ; but, on the other hand, thegood he does may outweigh theevil. Jerusalem crickets, grass-hoppers, field mice, and lizardsform the largest part of his diet,and it would be difficult to com-pute his value to the farmer. Except for the difference inenvironment, the nesting habitsof the Wliite-rumped closely re-semble those of the CaliforniaShrike. In fact, but for location,an expert can scarcely distinguish 522 a. White-the nest and eggs of the one ^^^^^^° ^^^^^- from those of the other, and the ^7>-^-^^->i-^-—sets of different pairs of birds often differ as much asthose of the two 622b. CALIFORNIA Lauiiis luduvicianus Family : The wShrikes. Length: Adultf: Upper parts slate-gray, tinged with brownish ; upper tail-cov-erts sometimes abruptly light grayish, or even white, same as thewhite-rumped shrike.; under parts dull white or grayish, darker onsides ; breast usually distinctly undulated or narrowly barred withgrayish, and sometimes tinged with pale brown. Young: Similar to adults, but colors less distinctly contrasted. Geographical Distribution: California, especially the coast district. California Breeding Range: Coast region from Red Bluff to San Diego. 22 338 LAND BIRDS Breeding Season : April and May, Nest: Usually in a scrubby tree ; from 5 to 30 feet from the ground ; bulky; made of coarse twigs, straws, grass, feathers,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1904
