1 8 4 BRITISH BIRDS 



The young are easily reared, if their natural diet is 

 supplied to them. 



The male has a very agreeable song of his own, and 

 is also endowed with no small imitative powers. 



The Great Shrike. 



The Great Shrike or Butcher-bird, also called the Grey 

 Shrike, is met with occasionally in Britain. It is about 

 9 inches in length, and, as one of its names indicates, is of a 

 bluish-grey on the upper parts of the body; wings, tail 

 and eye-streak, black; and the remainder white; the strong 

 beak is black, and the legs and feet dark slate. 



It is easily tamed, but is dangerous wuth other birds, 

 as are also the other Shrikes. It is an occasional winter 

 visitor to this country. 



The Grey Shrike. See Great Shrike. 



The Woodchat. 



The Woodchat is only of very casual occurrence. It 

 bears a general likeness to the Red-backed Shrike, but has 

 much more white about it, and a curiously notched bill ; 

 there is also a broad white stripe crossing the upper part 

 of the wing, and a smaller spot of the same colour about 

 the centre of it: the black eye-streak is prolonged backwards 

 and unites with a patch of the same colour between the 

 shoulders. 



THE SISKIN. See mider Finches. 



THE COMMON SKUA. 



This bird is also known as the Brown Gull, Teaser, 

 Bonxie, etc. It is a fine bird more than 2 feet in length, 

 w'eighing about 3 pounds and possessing a wing expanse 

 of between 4 feet and 5 feet. 



