THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 263 



also Nov. (one), Jan. (one), April (three), May (four), June (one) ; 

 from following comities : — Yorks. (one), Norfolk (three), Beds. 

 (one), Kent (tAA'o), Sussex (five), Hants, (two), Devon (one), and 

 Scilly Isles (one). Scotland. — One Fair Isle (Shetlauds), June 3, 

 1913. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — South and central Europe, north to 

 Livonia and west Siberia, east to Asia Minor, Persia, and Russian 

 Turkestan to Altai Mountains, but absent from Spain. Migrant, 

 wintering in tropical, and parts of south, Africa. 



LANIUS EXCUBITOR 



III. Lanius excubitor excubitor L. — THE GREAT GREY 

 SHRIKE. 



Lanius Excubitor Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 94 (1758—" Habitat 



in Europa." Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Lanius excubitor Linnteus, Yarrell, i, p. 199 ; Saunders, p. 147. 



Lanius major Pallas, Yarrell, in, p. viii. 



The Gveat (irej Shrike {Lanius e. excubitor). ^ adult. 



Description. — Adult male. Whiter. — Fore-head, croAvn, mantle 

 and back pearly blue-gi-ey ; scapulars with long white tips ; rump 

 and upper tail-coverts rather paler (sometimes whitish) than 

 mantle ; small superciliary stripe white ; lores, stripe imder eye, 

 narrow circle round eye and broad stri^^e behind eye passing through 

 ear-coverts black ; whole under-parts white, often with faint rosy 

 tinge on breast ; axillaries with white tips and outer webs and grey 

 inner webs ; long under wing-coverts smoke-grey ; tail : middle 

 pair black with white bases and small dull white marks at tips, 

 second pair same but with 5-10 mm. white at tip, third pair with 

 10-20 (sometimes even 30) mm. white at tip, fourth pair with 

 20-40 white at tip, but occasionally mostly white with only part 

 of shaft and irregular mark on both webs black, fifth pair with 

 30-40 white at tip but occasionally all white with only part 

 of shaft black, sixth (outer) pair sometimes all white, sometimes 

 with part of shaft black, and sometimes with base of inner web or 



