LANIUS UNCINATUS 275 
bill and legs pale horny. Jena Agahan, Socotra. @ juvenile, 12. 1. 99 
(Ogilvie-Grant and Forbes). j 
The Socotran Grey Shrike is confined to the Island of 
Socotra, where it was discovered by Professor J. B. Balfour 
in 1880. He collected nine examples of the species, eight of 
which, including the type, are now in the British Museum. 
He writes: “A very solitary bird. Found in those parts of 
the island where there are trees. None at the eastern 
extremity, nor on the Najad plain on the south side. 
Females I had some difficulty in getting. The male perches 
on the top of branches of the trees, and there utters a 
melodious note. Nom. vulg. ‘ Tavifi.’” 
Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, who also collected on the Island of 
Socotra, gives the following account: “We met with the 
Sokotran Shrike in all parts of the island visited, and finding 
it as a rule extremely tame, had no difficulty in obtaining as 
many specimens as we wanted. At Homhil I found a nest 
in a Boswellia tree containing quite young birds, but probably 
this was an exceptionally late brood, as it was the only nest 
we found occupied. The general habits do not seem to differ 
perceptibly from those of the common Red-backed Shrike. 
On one occasion our taxidermist, Mr. Cutmore, having shot 
a dove and failed to find it, visited the same place next 
morning. He found his bird transfixed on an acacia thorn, 
and a shrike sitting beside it. One curious custom of this 
bird was its habit of feeding late in the evening. When 
watching for the little Scops Owl at dusk, I often saw it 
busily engaged in catching beetles among the neighbouring 
bushes. The male has a harsh, rather mournful song, im- 
possible to reproduce, and the usual call-note frequently 
uttered from the tops of bushes sounds like ‘clink clink.’” 
