116 BIRDS OF EGYPT. 



ear-coverts black ; wings black, secondaries narrowly tipped 

 with white ; Imsal portion of the primaries white, forming a 

 broad bar on the wing ; tail, four centre feathers black, two 

 outer ones on each side white, third and fourth white, with 

 an irregular patch of black ; underparts white, shaded with 

 pink on the flanks ; beak and legs black ; irides brown. 



Entire length 8*5 inches; culmen 0"6 ; ■wing, carpus to 

 tip, 4 '5 ; tarsus 1. 



Fig. Sharpe and Dresser, B. of Eur. part xiii. 



73. Lanius nubicus, Licht. Masked Shrike. 



This species is migratory, arriving in Egypt from the south 

 towards the end of February. At Dendera, on the 25th of 

 March, it was so plentiful that I could have counted a hun- 

 dred of these birds in a day, generally in pairs. In Nubia 

 it was extremely abundant, pairs of them flying and chattering 

 together in every clump of trees I passed through. Its habits 

 are very similar to those of the Wood-Chat, but it is rather 

 more partial to groves of trees, where its well-marked plumage 

 renders it very conspicuous. 



Male in breeding-jiliimage. — Forehead and eyebrows creamy 

 white ; upper parts of the body blue-black ; scapulars and 

 base of the primaries white, remainder of the wing brownish 

 black ; the smaller wing-coverts edged with grey, the second- 

 aries narrowly edged with cream-colour; tail black, except 

 the two outer feathers and the tip of the third, which are 

 white ; underparts white, shaded with rich rufous on the sides 

 of the neck, breast, and flanks ; beak and legs black ; irides 

 brown. 



