218 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



only five examples have come into my hands — in all cases old 

 males — which were shot on this island at the close of calm and 

 warm days at the end of May or beginning of June. 



The rare occurrence of this species in Heligoland may be 

 accounted for by the predominantly western situation of its breed- 

 ing area. This extends, on the one side, from the west through 

 the north of Africa to the Caspian ; and on the other side, through 

 Spain and France, as far as north-eastern Germany. In England 

 the bird is met with occasionally ; but it has not yet been observed 

 in Scandinavia, nor is it included in Russow's list of the birds of 

 Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland. 



53.— Red-backed Shrike [Rothruckiger WOrger]. 



LANIUS COLLURIO, Brisson. 



Heligolandish : Eoad-rbgged Verw6ahrfink = i?frf-taci<;d Shrike. 



Lanius coUurio. Naumann, ii. 30. 



Red-backed Shrike. Dresser, iii. 399. 



Fie griiche ccorcheur. Temmiack, Manuel, i. 147, iii. 82. 



This Shrike, which is distributed as a common breeding bird 

 over the greater part of Europe and the whole of central Asia, was, 

 until about thirty years ago, a very common occurrence in HeUgo- 

 land during the fine warm days of April and May. 



Since the already-mentioned changes in the meteorological 

 conditions of these months, however, only isolated instances of its 

 occurrence have been recorded. It is a notable fact that old birds 

 of this species are never seen here during the autumn migration ; 

 not even m the earlier years when the birds still occurred in large 

 numbers during the sjDring migration : on the other hand, young 

 birds of the year {Sommervugel) are met with pretty often every 

 year during their return passage. 



This Shrike, too, is as fierce a robber as its larger-sized kinsman. 

 Not very long ago one of them bit off the head of a beautiful 

 Goldfinch which was hanging up in a cage in my garden as a 

 decoy-bird. It was a female, and I caught it immediately after the 

 deed in a fowling-net ; the feathers of its upper breast, to which 

 the fresh blood was still adhering, gave irrefutable evidence of the 

 murderous act. 



The breeding area of this species extends not only over Europe 

 and Asia, but, according to Dresser, also over south Africa. The 

 birds inhabiting the latter region are residents, remaining in their 

 homes throughout the whole of the year, undisturbed by the 

 innumerable swarms of northern breeding birds arriving in this 

 region every autumn, and departing again every spring. 



