410 General N. M. Prjevalsky 



Tail strongly barred ; outermost rectrices shorter by 49- 

 57 miliim. than the median and longest. Bill and feet black ; 

 eyes dark hazel. Coloration very similar to that of L. meri- 

 dionalis. 



Male. Head and upper part of body dark grey, but lighter 

 on the tail-coverts. All the abdomen white, with a rose tint 

 on breast and belly, and grey on the flanks. The narrow 

 superciliaries, bars under the eyes, and lores black. Wings 

 dull black. Primaries white in their basal half, forming a large 

 mirror; secondaries have only white at the tips; shoulders 

 white. The small upper wing-coverts grey, remainder dull 

 black ; lower wing-coverts white. 



The outermost rectrices are white, with a narrow black 

 stripe down the basal half of their shafts ; the next pair are 

 the same colour, though in some cases with a larger black 

 mark on the basal half on the inner web, or with a 

 narrow black edge on the same web. The remainder are 

 dull black, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th pairs with continually 

 diminishing white tips ; the median rectrices without terminal 

 spots. 



The female does not differ in plumage from the male. 

 We obtained eight specimens of this Shrike for our collec- 

 tion — three young, one old male, and four old females. 



In the young birds obtained early in June the grey colour 

 on the upper part of the body is thickly covered with a red- 

 dish-brown tint. The rose-colour on the abdomen is also 

 mingled with a reddish hue ; the breast has barely perceptible 

 wavy brown striations. The blackness of the gape and the 

 cheek is less intense ; the superciliaries are not so marked. 

 The quills and upper wing-coverts have narrow brownish 

 margins. The second pair of rectrices are black on the 

 basal half of the inner web ; the two median rectrices have 

 small reddish spots on the tips. 



This gigantic Shrike, larger than all its congeners, was 

 first met with by us on the 19/81 May, 1880, on the Upper 

 Hoang-ho, south of Gomi. A pair were nesting on the 

 border of the drift-sands, where the willow and an occasional 

 poplar grow. The male bird was an excellent songster. 



