232 



b. Homeyer'B Grey Shrike, L. excubitor homeyeri Cab. 



L. excuhitor homeyeri Cab. Hartert, Vog. Pal. Fauna, p. 420. 



Breeding Range: S. Russia and the lower Danube. [Also W. 

 Siberia.] 

 Con- This race appears to be sparingly distributed through S. Russia, 



tinentai ]t)^^ nowherc common, from Moscow southward to the Black Sea. It is 

 known to have bred in Kazan, Charkow, Astrakhan and Uralsk. Pro- 

 bably its range extends also to Rumania and Bulgaria, though according 

 to Reiser definite proof is still wanting. (Eastward it is found in Siberia 

 as far as the Yenesei.) 

 Neet. A full description by H. Johansen of a nest near Tomsk will be 



found in the OrnitJi. Jahrhuch, 1900, p. 28. 

 Egg,. The 7 eggs taken by Johansen averaged 28.3 x 19.8 mm. in size: 



Max. 29.5x20 and 28.2x20.2, Min. 27.3x19.5. They were some- 

 what incubated on May 6. 



c. Southern Grey Shrike, L. exeubitor nieridionalis Temni. 



Plate 24, fig. 7, 8 (Malaga). 



Eggs: Thienemann, Fortpfl. Tab. XXXI, fig. 3, a, b. Baedeker, 

 Tab. 52, fig. 3. Dresser, pi. — , fig. 15, 16. 



Foreign Names: France: Fie-grieche meridionale. Portugal: 

 Picanso. Spain: Alcaudon real. 



L. meridionalis Temm. Dresser, Birds of Europe, III, p. 387; id. Man. 

 Pal. Birds, p. 234. L. excuhitor me^'idionalis Temm. Hartert, Vog. 

 Pal. Fauna, p. 424. 



Breeding Range: The Iberian Peninsula and Provence, 

 cou- In the Iberian Peninsula this Shrike occurs locally in suitable 



districts throughout the S. and E., but has apparently not been observed 

 in the N. W. Its favourite haunts are wild, uncultivated districts, over- 

 grown with patches of scrub and a few trees. In such localities it is 

 not uncommon, especially in Andalucia, Granada, Murcia and Valencia. 

 In France it is resident in the Provinces bordering on the Mediterranean 

 eastward to Nice, and has occurred along the Pyrenean range and in 

 the S. of the country. It has also been met with singly along the 

 north-western coast of Italy (Liguria, Tuscany etc.). 



In Spain many nests are placed in the middle of thick, bramble 

 covered, or thorny bushes, sometimes not more than 2 or 3 ft. from the 

 ground, but generally higher. Sometimes however the nest is placed on 

 the bough of a small tree, much like that of the Mistle Thrush at home, 

 and in such cases is rarely more than 8 or 10 ft. high. It is a bulky, 

 rather untidy-looking structure composed of a few twigs and large quan- 

 tities of coarse grasses, lined with finer grass and a few feathers. 



tinentai 



Europe 



