THE BIRD-LIFE OF LONDON 
retiring south in September. The bird is fond of sitting 
on some tall hedge or isolated bush, on a telegraph wire, 
or any other elevated spot from which a good look-out 
is possible, and from this perch it darts at intervals 
in quest of food. ‘This chiefly consists of beetles, bees, 
wasps, grasshoppers, cockchafers, small birds, mice, and 
lizards. Many of these when captured are conveyed to 
some thorn-bush and impaled, where they are left for 
future use, or the sharp thorn is used as a skewer whilst 
the object is torn to pieces and eaten. ‘The ordinary call- 
note of this Shrike 1s a harsh chirp, but when alarmed 
it utters a grating chack, something like the note of the 
Fieldfare. Its song is short, and not very loud or musical. 
It flies in an undulating way from tree to tree, but may 
often be seen hovering Kestrel-like above the ground, as if 
searching the grass for prey. ‘The Red-backed Shrike 
nests in May and June, and so far as Greater London is 
concerned the favourite haunts are hedges and thickets. 
The nests vary a good deal in size, materials, and work- 
manship, some being very slovenly and loosely put 
together, others compact and bulky. The usual nest is 
made of dry grass stalks and the stems of plants, roots, moss, 
and wool, and finally lined with hair. Other nests are 
made of dry plants with flowers attached, moss, and wool, 
with a strengthening girdle of twigs. ‘The four to six 
eggs vary a good deal in colour and style of markings. 
The ground colour may be pale blue or green, pale buff, 
pink, or even white, spotted, freckled, and blotched with 
various shades of olive-brown and grey, the markings 
mostly in an irregular band round the laiger end of the 
egg. ‘Throughout the period of incubation the male, 
sentinel-like, is seldom far from the nest. ‘The young are 
fed and tended for some time after they can fly, and during 
this period the old Shrikes destroy many small birds. 
The adult male Red-backed Shrike has the head and 
nape, the upper back, rump, and upper tail-coverts 
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