THE SHRIKES 



[ORDER: PdMeriforme*. FAMILY: Laniida.] 

 PRELIMINARY CLASSIFIED NOTES 



[r. C. B. JOURDAJN. W. P. PYCRAFT. A. L. THOMSON. B. L. TURNER) 



REDBACKED-SHRIKB [Ldnius cotturio, Linnaeus. Butcher-bird, 

 pope, nine-killer, flushcr. French, ecorcheur ; German, rotriickiger Wurger ; 

 Italian, atvrla piccolo], 



I. Description. The male redbacked-shrike may be recognised by it* black 



face, grey crown and neck, red back, and black and white tail ; the female lacks 



this brilliancy of coloration, having the upper part* of a dull brownish chestnut. 



(PI. 68.) Length 7 in. [178 mm.]. In the adult male the forehead, lores, and auri- 



culars are black, the crown, nape, and back of the neck ash-grey ; the mantle Indian 



red, contrasting with the rump, which is ash-grey. The lesser wing-coverts are of 



the same hue as the mantle, the greater coverts and inner secondaries dark brown 



with broad red margins, while the primaries and outer secondaries are dark brown. 



At the base of the primaries is a white patch, concealed by the major coverts. The 



tail has the outer feathers white, with an oblong hatchet-shaped patch of black 



on the inner web : in the succeeding feathers the black extends to the outer web, 



while the middle pair are wholly black ; thus, in the closed tail, a large basal patch 



of white is seen on either side of the central feathers. The throat, abdomen, and 



under tail-coverts are white, the breast vinous. The female differs from the male 



in having the upper parts of a pale, dull chestnut, tending to grey on the back of 



the neck and rump. The car-coverts are dark brown, the throat, lower breast, and 



abdomen dull white, while the fore-breast and flanks are huffish white, conspicuously 



' laced ' with black. In the juvenile plumage the upper parts are reddish grey, 



deepening on the mantle to light red, the whole being barred with black. The 



crown feathers, however, are grey, with a subterminal bar of black and an outer 



fringe of reddish grey. The lesser wing-coverts are grey, barred like the rest of 



