152 RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 



In summer the Red-backed Shrike is found in Scandinavia and 

 Northern Europe as high as about 64° N. lat., and southward 

 throughout the greater part of the Continent : but in the south-west 

 it appears to be rare, for Mr. Tait only once obtained it, with its 

 nest, in the north of Portugal ; while one shot by Mr. Abel Chap- 

 man on April loth is the only specimen recorded from Southern 

 Spain, though in the north the bird is found from Catalonia to 

 Santander. Comparatively few, in fact, remain to breed in the 

 basin of the Mediterranean, although the species is common in 

 some parts on passage ; but eastward it is found nesting on the 

 high grounds of Hermon, Lebanon, and the Altai Mountains. In 

 winter its migrations extend to Natal and Cape Colony. 



In the second half of ]May the nest, large for the size of the bird, 

 is placed usually about five or six feet from the ground, in a thick 

 thorn-bush or strong hedge, and is made of stalks of plants, moss, 

 and roots, with a lining of bents, wool and hair. The 4-6 eggs vary 

 considerably, some having the ground-colour of a greenish-white, 

 others of a yellowish-clay, and some of a salmon tint ; they are 

 spotted and zoned with brown, olive or lilac, or blotched with two 

 shades of light red and violet-grey : measurements "88 by '65 in. 

 Only one brood is reared in the season : the majority taking 

 their departure in August in family parties, before their moult, 

 though the capture of a young bird is recorded on November nth 

 1869, when in pursuit of a Wren. This Shrike feeds on mice, 

 lizards, beetles, humble-bees, wasps and other insects ; it has 

 been seen to strike down and carry off a Sand-Martin on the wing; 

 while, like its congeners, it impales its prey on thorns, whence its 

 trivial name of " Flusher," i.e.^ Flesher. The alarm-note is a harsh 

 chack, but the male has a rather sweet song, and is also a good mimic. 



The adult male has the frontal band, lores and ear-coverts black ; 

 crown and nape grey ; mantle chestnut-brown ; wing-feathers brown 

 edged with rufous ; tail-coverts grey ; tail-feathers (except the two 

 central pairs, which are mostly black) white at their bases and 

 black on the lower portion, with black shafts and narrow white 

 tips; chin white; under parts rose-buff; bill, legs and feet black. 

 Length 7 in.; wing 37 in. The female ordinarily has the upper 

 parts and tail russet-brown with famt crescentic bars on the mantle, 

 and the under parts bufifish-white with greyish-brown semilunar bars; 

 but mature females lose the bars, and even assume a plumage like 

 that of the male. The young bird is whiter on the forehead, 

 duller and less rufous-brown on the upper parts, more barred both 

 above and below, and has iron-grey legs. 



