378 TSCHAGRA AUSTRALIS 
very near 7’. a. emini, but appears to be slightly larger and have 
a larger bill. Of this form Bates writes as follows: “ This, 
called the Nko’o-Bikétdék, is one of the commonest birds of the 
‘bik6ét6k’ or old overgrown clearings, and even in the cassava 
fields; it is never found in the forest. Like all the common 
Shrikes of this country, it is a bird of a conjugal disposition and 
is often seen in pairs. When mating, it (probably the male only) 
utters a sort of song, which may be said to begin with a trill 
or rattle, and end with ‘keow! keow! keow!’ all in a rich, 
pleasant tone of voice. I have heard it also, while flying from 
bush to bush, make a sharp whip-snapping sound, apparently 
with its wings. This noise is made only occasionally, and seems 
to be, like the song, an expression of amorous feelings, or made 
to attract attention.” Mr. Bates came across several nests. 
They are in the form of a very shallow cup of dry leaf-petioles, 
grass and other stems, the finer ones inside, and are thin and 
light. One was set on the forks of a cassava stem. The eggs 
are of a regular or slightly pointed oval form and very slightly 
glossy. They are white sparingly marked, especially at the 
larger end with blotches, and irregularly shaped spots and lines 
of brown and various shades of grey. They measure 0°95 x 
0°65. 
Finally, on the West Coast, in the Gold Coast Colony 
and Sierra Leone, there is found J’. a. ussheri, described by 
Sharpe from an example collected by Governor Ussher on 
the Volta River. It does not appear to be very common, 
judging by the very few examples in the British Museum. 
Dr. Reichenow took a nest of this subspecies near Aguapim in 
September. In the neighbouring colony of Togoland it has 
been obtained by Baumann and Count Zech. 
The following list of the specimens of this species in the 
British Museum will best illustrate the geographical distribu- 
tion of the subspecies :— 
