510 LANIUS COLLURIO. 



The species is said to be found in various parts of Africa, 

 even the Cape of Good Hope, in Italy and other portions of 

 the south of Europe, in France, Germany, and the northern 

 countries as far as Sweden and Norway. In the colder parts 

 it is a migratory bird, and in England makes its first appear- 

 ance in the beginning of May, seldom arriving earlier than the 

 10th or later than the 20th. It usually places its nest in a 

 thick hedge or bush. According to Montagu, it is " com- 

 posed of moss and fibrous roots put together with wool, and 

 lined with hair. It lays five or six eggs, of a bluish-coloured 

 white, with cinereous brown spots, most at the larger end ; 

 sometimes the eggs are white with dusky spots. When it has 

 young and you approach the nest, the birds are clamorous, 

 making a chattering noise." Two young birds which he kept 

 chained " would come to the call for the sake of a fly, of which 

 they were extremely fond ; when raw meat was given them, 

 they would endeavour to fasten it to some part of their open 

 cage in order to tear it ; would eat mice and small birds cut in 

 pieces, feathers, fur, and bones, disgorging the refuse like the 

 hawk tribe." After the young have come abroad, they keep 

 together, and associate with their parents, until the period of 

 their departure, which is towards the end of September. 



The nest may be more particularly described as very bulky, 

 having an external diameter of from six to seven inches, the 

 internal three. It is composed of slender twigs, fibrous roots, 

 and moss, with a lining of wool, and the hair of various ani- 

 mals. The eggs are ten and a half twelfths long, seven-twelfths 

 in breadth, ovate, with the narrow end rounded, generally light 

 cream-coloured, but sometimes tinged with blue, and marked 

 with dots, spots, and small patches of reddish-brown, and pale 

 purplish-grey, sparse on the smaller end, but collected into a 

 broad ring towards the larger. They are very similar in co- 

 louring to those of the Grey Flycatcher and ISIissel Thrush. 



Young. — Young birds have the upper parts dull reddish- 

 brown ; the hind-neck and rump tinged with grey, the scapu- 

 lars redder with dusky tips ; the quills dusky, the inner secon- 

 daries lighter, and bordered with greyish-red, within which is 



