152 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



nuptial display, when with wings drooped and shaken or with 

 sailing flight he shows his charms to the hen. Frequent gifts 

 are brought to the female at this time which she receives with 

 quivering wings and low crooning notes. 



The nest is large and not over neat ; grass, roots, moss and 

 wool, lined with hair, rootlets and wool are the usual materials ; 

 it is placed, well concealed, in a thick hedge, bush or mass of 

 brambles (Plate 61), but the guardian male betrays its situation. 

 The four to six eggs vary considerably, but conform to certain 

 types ; the ground is white, grey, buff or salmon-pink, the spots 

 or blotches, often in a zone, are mostly towards the thicker end, 

 and are red or grey. One not infrequent type (Plate 65) has a 

 zone of reddish lines on a pink ground. They are seldom laid 

 until late in May or early June, and a second brood is rare. 



The male has the crown, nape and rump slate-grey, the back 

 and scapulars warm chestnut-red, and the black wing^ are 

 margined with chestnut. A black frontlet extends through the 

 eye to the ear-coverts, and over the eye is a white streak ; the 

 sides of the neck and chin are white. The tail is brownish 

 black, with no white on the central feathers, but the others 

 have white bases increasing in size until the outermost are 

 mainly white. Most of the under parts are rosy buff. The 

 legs and bill are black : the irides dark brown. The female is 

 without black on the head and is russet-brown above with 

 darker crescentic bars ; her under parts are buff with semilunar 

 grey markings ; her superciliary streak is buff. The young- 

 has hardly any eye-stripe, is browner and duller with more 

 distinct barring ; the legs are greyer. Length, 7 ins. Wing, 

 37 ins. Tarsus, '95 in. 



Woodchat. Lanius senator Linn. 



The Woodchat, a conspicuous black and white shrike with 

 a chestnut-red crown (Plate 60), is found in sum.mer from 



