BRITISH BIRDS. 25 



and whitish yellow edges; throat, upper breast, and lores 

 tawny yellow, with black spots ; breast bluish grey, 

 speckled with black; belly, vent, and under tail coverts 

 tawny yellow without spots ; tail brown, except two outer 

 pairs, which are white ; bill, upper mandible horn, lower 

 yellow ; legs and feet yellowish grey. Length, oh inches ; 

 tail, 21, 



Meadow Pipit. — Upper surface greyish brown, lighter 

 towards tail, spotted sparely with narrow dark lines ; over 

 the eye is a white line, also spotted with black ; the wings 

 have an olive tinge that almost masks the brown ; the 

 outer edge of the coverts and secondaries darker than the 

 inner ; under surface white spotted with black marks ; bill 

 yellowish ; legs and feet yellowish grey. 



THE SHRIKES. 



Three species are met with in Britain, the two first 

 being of frequent, and the third of rare, occurrence, and all 

 are summer visitors only. 



Family — Lanida;. 



Genus — Lanius. L. excubitor. Great Grey Shrike. 



Z. collurio. Red-backed Shrike. 



L. ntfus. Woodchat. 



Great Grey Shrike, or Butcher Bird. — This is the 

 largest species of the three shrikes that come under the 

 notice of the British aviculturist ; it is a fine, bold-looking 

 bird of a light slate blue colour on all the upper parts 

 except the tail, the two central feathers of which are black, 

 and the remainder, except the outer pair, which are all 

 white, are black with white ends ; the wings are black, 



