THE SHRIKES 



1637 



valleys, generally nesting in the vicinity of pasture-land. This shrike builds its 

 nest in olive trees and bushes, the nesting materials consisting of leaves of plants, 

 grass stems, and fibres. It lays a pale greenish-gray egg, clouded with yellow and 

 irregularly spotted with black. It feeds principally upon beetles and other insects, 

 like the woodchat, and possesses a pleasant song. The adult male has the forehead 

 white, this color extending behind the eye, the scapulars being also of the same 

 hue; the crown and entire upper parts are bluish black, the wing coverts being 

 edged with whitish ; the tail feathers are black and white, and the lower parts white 

 tinged with reddish yellow. 



The hooded shrike (/,. erythropterus} is an Algerian bird, breeding 



:e in well-bushed situations, where it runs about with great rapidity in 



search of its food. It is a skulking species, and keeps out of sight as much as possi- 



INDIAN SCARLET MINIVET. 

 (Two-thirds natural size.) 



ble. The call note is a harsh cry, tschagra tschagra chagra chrug. Canon Tristram 

 says that this shrike never exposes itself in any conspicuous situation, but always 

 remains concealed in the thickest recesses. The only nest he took was placed in the 

 centre of an arbutus bush, and was large and coarsely constructed of twigs, with a 

 thick lining of wool and hair. It contained four eggs, which were white in ground 

 color, spotted with brown and blotched with red. The adult has the crown of the 

 head and nape black; the eyebrow white; the scapulars black, margined with 

 chestnut; the wing coverts bright chestnut; the wings black, bordered with red; 

 the tail black, broadly tipped with white; the chin white; and the under parts ashy 

 gray. 



