LANIID.«. 



147 



THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 



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Lanius excubitor, Linnceus. 



The Great Grey Shrike is a conspicuous and fairly regular visitor 

 from the Continent to the British Islands in autumn and winter ; 

 while it has occasionally been observed in spring and even in 

 summer, though there is no evidence that it has ever bred with us. 

 It is naturally more frequent on the eastern side (especially in the 

 Humber district, where it pursues the small migrants) than on the 

 west; but though records are wanting from the Hebrides, it has 

 occurred in Argyll and often in the Orkneys, while it was seen by 

 Saxby in the Shetlands. In Ireland it is an irregular visitor in 

 winter. 



Many of the specimens obtained in winter have a white bar on 

 the primaries only, the bases of the secondaries being black ; 

 whereas in the typical L. excubitor the bases of the secondaries are 

 white, and the wing exhibits a double bar. The form with only one 

 bar is the L. major of Pallas, and, as shown by Prof. CoUett (Ibis 

 1886, pp. 30-40) it meets and interbreeds with L. excubitor in 

 Scandinavia, typical examples of both races being actually found in 

 the same brood, while intermediate individuals are not uncommon. 

 Where the sexes have been determined by dissection the double- 

 barred bird has generally proved to be a male and the single- 

 barred a female. The typical L. excubitor breeds as far east as 

 St. Petersburg, beyond which, and in Western Siberia, L. ?iiajor 



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