LESSER r,REY SHRIKE." 207 



observed in Portugal. In Africa it ranges from north-east 

 to south-west, frequenting, as Dr. von Heuglin states, if not 

 residing on, the shores of the Red Sea, while, according to 

 Messrs. Dresser and Sharpe, many specimens were sent by 

 Andersson from Damaraland. 



In habits this species is said to resemble the Great Grey 

 Shrike, but it preys less on mammals and birds, feeding 

 chiefly on insects and at times on fruit, such as cherries, figs 

 and mulberries. In Provence, where it is common, it fre- 

 quents the marshy plains bordering the sea or intersected by 

 water-courses. In North Germany a pair or two are said to 

 haunt the orchards of most of the villages, though it is 

 also found on the verge of the forests. Its flight, according 

 to Vieillot, is straight and sustained. It rests often on the 

 ground, either on a stone or a hillock, and when disturbed 

 thence betakes itself to the woods. It builds a large and 

 thick nest, in which green clover-stems are, according to 

 several observers, always to be found, mixed with a few dry 

 sticks, wool and field-flowers — mostly, it is said, those 

 having an aromatic odour, and lined with feathers. The 

 eggs are from five to seven in number, white, tinged with 

 apple-green occasionally inclining to olive, and marked with 

 large blotches, usually ill-defined but sometimes bold, of 

 olive and ash-colour. In a few instances the eggs have been 

 known to have the reddish tints so frequently found in those 

 of the Red-backed Shrike. They measure from 1'05 to "93 

 by from -73 to -68 in., and are usually laid at the end of 

 May or beginning of June. This Shrike bears no other bird 

 in its neighbourhood, and Crows especially it is said to 

 chase away from its nest with angry cries. 



In the adult male, as represented by the lower figure 

 of the woodcut, the bill, which is very stout in propor- 

 tion to the size of the bird, is dark horn-colour, almost 

 black ; across the forehead a broad black band passes back- 

 ward both above and below the eyes, and forms a patch 

 extending behind the ears. All the plumage of the body 

 above, from the head to the rump, is of an ashy-grey, some- 

 what lighter at either extremity. Wing-coverts brownish- 



