WEAVER-BIRDS, SHRIKES, ETC. 183 



screaming nature, and is very like that of a common 

 bulbul when in great terror and distress. From its 

 character it may well be a lure- call adapted to 

 attract small birds into convenient striking-distance ; 

 for, although their usual prey consists of insects and 

 small reptiles or batrachians, they sometimes do hawk 

 at birds. I have seen one that was seated on a rail 

 overlooking an open space of grass make a fierce 

 dash at a wagtail, Motacilla borealis, that rose from 

 the ground as I approached, and, though he failed 

 to secure his prey, the vicious and audible snap 

 of his bill seemed to indicate clearly that he meant 

 business. They do not seem very often to impale 

 their victims, probably because these are usually easily 

 broken up ; but when they have secured a lizard 

 they sometimes fix it down on a stout thorn so as 

 to have a point of resistance whilst working at the 

 hard, tough skin. The times of their arrival in 

 early autumn, and departure in late spring, seem 

 to indicate that their nesting takes place either at 

 no great distance, or else in some highly elevated 

 or far northern land. Their plumage is very quietly 

 coloured as compared with that of many of their 

 relatives, but its subdued brown tints come out 

 very effectively amongst masses of deep green foliage, 

 and, like all true shrikes, they have a very alert, 

 intelligent look. They begin to call with the earliest 

 dawn, and continue to do so in the evening far on 

 into the deepest dusk, and long after the bats are 



