WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 



99 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of this Shrike 

 arc not readily confused with those of any other species 

 habitually breeding within the British area, their size, 

 well-marked types of colour, and zones of spots being 

 so far peculiar to them as to render their identification 

 an easy matter. The nest is also very characteristic. 



The Woodchat Shrike {Laniiis rnfus) has been 

 recorded as having bred several times in the Isle of 

 Wight, but as our islands are somewhat out of the 

 normal line of migration of this species, the event must 

 be an exceedingly exceptional one. I had abundant 

 opportunities of studying the habits of this handsome 

 bird in Algeria. The eggs are usually laid in May. 

 The nest is made in a fork of the branches of a small 

 tree or large bush ; I have seen it twenty feet from 

 the ground, close to the trunk of a poplar; and in many 

 cases it is made with little or no attempt at conceal- 

 ment. Externally the materials are stalks and stems 

 of plants and grass, the dry leaves of grass, dead leaves, 

 and occasionally tufts of wool ; it is lined with withered 

 flowers of the cudweed and other aromatic plants, wool 

 and vegetable down. The eggs are from four to six 

 in number, five being the usual clutch. They are 

 considerably larger than those of the Red-backed 

 Shrike, but otherwise closely resemble them in appear- 

 ance. It may be remarked, however, that the red type 

 of Q^^ so common in that species is just as rare in 

 the eggs of the Woodchat Shrike. Average measure- 

 ment, '92 inch in length, by "69 inch in breadth. 

 Incubation, performed almost entirely by the female, 

 lasts fourteen days. But one brood appears to be 

 reared in the year. 



