LANIUS. SHRIKE. 



491 



more powerful enemies. Their voice is generally harsh and 

 screamy ; they fly in an undulating manner, and seldom alight 

 on the ground, where their motions are constrained. Species 

 of this genus occur in the warm and temperate parts of the old 

 continent, and in North America. In the colder regions they 

 are generally migratory, as their food consists chiefly of insects, 

 which they frequently seize on wing while passing near their 

 selected station on a twig. The larger insects they usually 

 impale on a thorn, or fix in the fork of a branch, in order to 

 tear them asunder conveniently, as they do not generally, like 

 the hawks, stand on their prey while feeding. In their nidifi- 

 cation they resemble the Thrushes, and other birds of the Tur- 

 dinse, Sylvianas, and Sturninse, forming an elaborate hemi- 

 spherical nest, in which are deposited from four to eight spotted 

 eggs. The young are born blind and naked, and are fed with 

 insects and worms, sometimes also with the flesh of small qua- 

 drupeds and birds. 



Three species are found in Britain : the Great Cinereous, 

 the Woodchat, and the Red-backed Shrikes. 



