141 



THE LESSER GREY SHRIKE. 



Lanius minor, J. F. Gmelin. 



The Lesser Grey Shrike is an annual suainier-visitor to the 

 southern and central portions of Europe, and, on migration, it 

 occasionally wanders to England. Early in November 185 1, a 

 female was killed in the Scilly Islands ; in the spring of 1869 the 

 Rev. Murray A. Mathew received one from Great Yarmouth, where 

 another was taken in May 1875 '■> ^^'^ ^" September 23rd 1876, a 

 bird of the year, identified by the late Mr. Gatcombe, was taken 

 alive near Plymouth. 



It is doubtful if the Lesser Grey Shrike hos occurred in the south 

 of Sweden or in Denmark ; while it is distinctly rare on passage 

 in Heligoland, as well as in Holland, Belgium and the north of 

 France. Eastward, it is not uncommon along the southern shores 

 of the Baltic, and it has even wandered to Finland ; while in the 

 south it is generally distributed over Europe as far west as the 

 valley of the Rhone and Provence. It may perhaps visit Catalonia 

 on the east side of Spain, but it is unknown in the south and 

 west. It is common in Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, Greece, Turkey, Asia 



