248 FISCUS COLLARIS 
Fiseus collaris, Shelley, B. Afr. i. No. 693 (1896); Oates, Cat. B. Eggs, 
B. M. iv. p. 282 (1903) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1904, p. 341 Deelfontezn. 
Le Fiscal, Levaill. Ois. Afr. ii. pls. 61, 62 (1799). 
Adult male.—Upper parts mostly slaty black; scapulars pure white ; 
lower back and upper tail-coverts grey, five outer pairs of tail-feathers, with 
white ends, increasing in size to the outer pair, which are mostly white, the 
black portion being confined to the basal part of the inner web, and con- 
cealed by the coverts; quills with little or no pale terminal margins, but a 
broad basal portion of the primaries is pure white, and there is some pale 
inner edging to most of the quills; under wing-coverts white, with a dusky 
patch next to the primaries; axillaries black, with some white edging ; 
lower portion of cheeks and the under parts whitish, with a faint grey 
mottling of varying development, a slight mottling of blackish on the 
thighs. Iris brown; bill and feet black. Total length about 9:0 inches, 
culmen 0:75, wing 3-9, tail 4-6, tarsus 1-1. Deelfontein, g 20. 5. 02 (Sloggett). 
Adult female. Differs in having a patch of chestnut on the flanks (and 
sometimes a trace of white in front of eye, near the forehead). Wing 3°8. 
Deelfontein ? 20. 5. 02 (Sloggett). 
Immature. Head, neck, back, scapulars, lesser wing-coverts and flanks 
buff, with narrow black bars; edges of greater coverts, secondaries, and most 
of the upper tail-coverts rufous; pale portion of tail tinged with rufous. Bill 
horny black, fading into yellow on the basal half of lower mandible. Cape 
Town, 14.1. 74 (Shelley). 
The Fiscal, as this Shrike was originally named by 
Levaillant, is practically confined to Cape Colony; to the 
north of the Orange River it is replaced by F’. swbcoronatus, 
with which, however, it undoubtedly often interbreeds; while 
to the east in Natal it gradually merges into Lf’. humeralis, 
distinguished by its pure white under-parts. 
Messrs. Stark and Sclater write: ‘The Fiscal is exceedingly 
common in and around Cape Town, and is generally to be 
seen perched on a post or dead branch of a tree, whence it 
can obtain a good view of its surroundings; it attacks other 
birds, rats, snakes, lizards, small fish, crabs, and large insects, 
such as locusts. It is always dangerous to expose canaries 
and other cagebirds on verandahs or in gardens, as they are 
sure to be murdered sooner or later. It impales its prey on 
the thorns of various bushes, or on the spikes of an aloe; 
