58 THE GREAT, OR ASH-COLOURED SHRIKE. 



have the base of the primaries white, forming a 

 triangular mark on these parts, and the exterior 

 tail feathers, with the tips of all the rest, except 

 the two in the centre, the space widening to the 

 outside, are of the same pure tint. The female 

 has the colours in general duller, and the breast 

 is undulated with narrow dusky transverse bars. 

 Temminck mentions the occurrence of a variety 

 nearly pure white, having the black parts slightly 

 tinted with grey. The young are tinted with 

 brownish purple on the grey parts, and have the 

 breast, belly, and vent, of a reddish or yellowish 

 white, thickly foarred transversely with umber 

 brown. The dark parts of the plumage are not 

 so intense, or so defined in their boundaries. 



In the British islands, the Grey Shrike can only 

 be viewed as an occasional visitant, and that even 

 of rare occurrence, except in some of the southern 

 and midland counties. There, during the winter 

 months, and towards the approach of spring, strag- 

 gling specimens are frequently procured ; towards 

 the north, and on the confines of the border, it 

 becomes less frequent ; in the south of Scot- 

 land it is a rare bird, a few instances only of its 

 capture having occurred to our notice ; while 

 in Ireland, according to the observations of Mr 

 Thompson, it seems to be equally rare.* No in- 

 stances of this species breeding in this country 



See Mag. of Zool. and Dot. ii. p, 427, for instances 

 of capture in Ireland. 



