31 examples of shrikes in sentences

" Thus having ended all her piteous plaint, 470 With dolefull shrikes shee vanished away, That I, through inward sorrowe wexen faint, And all astonished with deepe dismay For her departure, had no word to say; But sate long time in sencelesse sad affright, 475 Looking still, if I might of her have sight.

Therewith she lowdly did lament and shrike, Pouring forth streames of teares abundantly; 230 And all her sisters, with compassion like, The breaches of her singulfs* did supply.

With that she wept and wofullie waymented, 355 That naught on earth her griefe might pacifie; And all the rest her dolefull din augmented With shrikes, and groanes, and grievous agonie.

With that she lowdly gan to waile and shrike, 475

For at least half an hour the old mill was forgotten, while I chased the grackle about, as he flew hither and thither, sometimes with a loggerhead shrike in furious pursuit.

When I tired of chasing the grackle, or the shrike had driven him away (I do not remember now how the matter ended), I started again toward the old sugar mill.

And the same is true of the loggerhead shrikes, a pair of which had built a nest in a small water-oak at the edge of the sidewalk, on a street corner, just beyond the reach of passers-by.

The last remark was of interest for its bearing upon a point about which I had felt some curiosity, and, I may say, some skepticism, as I had seen many loggerhead shrikes, but had observed no indication that other birds feared them or held any grudge against them.

In the drier and more open parts of the way cardinals, mocking-birds, and thrashers were singing, ground doves were cooing, quails were prophesying, and loggerhead shrikes sat, trim and silent, on the telegraph wire.

Here are no laughing yaffels, no cruel, murderous shrikes, and very few song-birds.

THE GREAT NORTHERN SHRIKE (Or BUTCHER BIRD)

Nat and Rap must each have their turn before it comes to you again; besides, this Shrike is a sort of cousin to the Vireos by right of his hooked beak, and you know I am trying to place our birds somewhat in their regular family order.

[Illustration: Northern Shrike.]

"But if Shrikes eat birds, aren't they very bad Citizens?"

"I do not wonder that you think so, my lassie; and so they would be if they ate birds only; but the Shrike earns his right to be thought a good Citizen by devouring mice and many kinds of insects, like beetles, which injure orchards and gardens.

"In fact, the Shrike is especially useful in helping us to drive out the greedy, quarrelsome English Sparrow.

"For this reason we must forgive the Shrike if he takes a few other birds when he is hungry and in a hurry.

Where the Shrike spends his winters, the food-supply is variable; it may snow for days and days, when he can find nothing to eat; so he has learned to store up provisions when the hunting is good, and of course such a thrifty bird may sometimes save up more than he really needs.

"You may know this Shrike on sight without hearing him singand perhaps you do not expect a cannibal bird to be a singer.

But in late March and early April, when he is about to take his homeward journey to the North, he often warbles beautifully, and even brings in some mocking notes, until you would think that a Catbird, Thrasher, or Mockingbird must have wandered from the South too soon; and if you ever happen to see a Shrike and a Mocker close together, you may mistake one for the other, they look so much alike at a little distance.

The Great Northern Shrike Length about ten inches.

" This charming little Hawk, about the size of a Shrike, had all the beauty of shape and color of a song bird, combined with Hawk-like dash.

"Y-e-s, I have, but not many more than the Shrike takes, and mostly seed-eatershardly ever an insect-eating song bird.

FAMILY OF SHRIKES FAMILY

Great Northern Shrike La'nius borea'lis.

31 examples of  shrikes  in sentences