1632 



THE PERCHING BIRDS 



other insects. The great gray shrike inhabits Western and Central Europe, being 

 replaced to the eastward chiefly by a single-barred species, which extends through 

 Asia, merging into the great northern shrike of North America. The brightly- 

 colored shrikes belong chiefly to Africa. 



Great Gray 

 Shrike 



GREAT GRAY SHRIKE AND RED-BACKED SHRIKE. 

 (One-half natural size.) 



The great gray shrike (Lanius excubitor) is a common bird in the 

 northern and central parts of Europe, frequenting the skirts of forests 

 in the summer. It is a shy and retiring species when unmolested, but 

 when it has lost its nest or young becomes most vociferous. Willoughby was per- 

 haps the first English naturalist to describe the employment of this shrike in the 

 capture of passage falcons. On the Rhine they are persecuted by the gamekeepers, 

 and the shrike that has lost his mate will often fly to the top of a very tall poplar 

 tree and thence pour forth his woes. The plan adopted for destroying these birds 



