BUTCHER, Samuel Henry, Irish classical scholar: b. Dublin, 16 April 1850; d. 29 Dec. 1910. He was educated at Marlborough Col lege, and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was a lecturer at University College, Oxford, 1876 82. From 1882-1903 he was professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh, and in 1906 he was elected one of the members for Cambridge University. In 1904 he visited the United States to deliver a series of lectures at Harvard Uni versity and other places. He has published a 'Prose Translation of the Odyssey' (with A. Lang q.v.) (1879) ;
(1::1) ; 'Some Aspects of the Greek Genius' (1891) ;
Theory of Poetry and the Fine Arts, with a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics' (1895) ; 'Demosthenes' Orationes) (1903, 1907) ;
a shrike of the family Laniida•, representatives of which range throughout the northern hemisphere. They are birds of moderate size, and gray and white in color, with black markings upon the head, wings and tail, which are properly included among the insect-eating birds, but have de veloped certain falcon-like traits. They are of powerful build, with hooked beaks, and strong claws, and in winter, when insect prey is not easily obtained, they are accustomed to strike down small birds, and to seize mice, shrews, etc.
These they carry off in their claws to some thorn-tree, or to a fence with spikes, and impale them one by one upon the thorns, or other sharp points, in order to fix them firmly while they feed upon their flesh. It often happens, however, that their love of the chase exceeds their appetite, so that they will catch and store away several victims, whose frozen bodies re main hanging upon the thorns, like meat in a butcher's shop; the Germans have a popular belief that nine victims are thus stored at a time, and call the birds These shrikes make rude nests in trees and lay four or five brownish spotted eggs. They feed their young upon insects, and these form the larger part of their own fare, especialy grasshoppers. A typical species, common over northernmost North America, is the great northern shrike (Lanius borealis), which is rarely seen in the United States, except in winter. Another species, the loggerhead (L. ludovicianus), dwells in the Southern States and is somewhat smaller in size. Consult Ingersoll, 'Wild Life of Orchard and Field' (1902) ; Newton, Alfred, 'Dictionary of Birds' (New York 1896) ; Evans, A. H., 'Birds' in 'Cambridge Natural History' (Vol. IX, ibid., 1900). See SHRIKE.