THE GREAT GREY-SI IK IKK 251 



good characters. \ i/. the amount of black and white mi the quill 

 feathers of these birds, so that in spite of many attempts to reduce 

 the syiionomy of the group to something like order, opinions were 

 much divided, and the group was in a great state of confusion until 

 Dr. Hartert revised the whole of the Shrikes for his work on the 

 Birds of tin- Pala-arctie Ke^ion. With the help of the loan of tin- 

 rich material in the St Petersburg Museum, together with the fine 

 series of skins in the British Museum and at Tring, he was able to 

 bring order out of chaos, and now we have a really satisfactory 

 account of the affinities of what was formerly one of the most unsatis- 

 factory groups. 



In the British Isles we have at present only positive records of 

 one form of great grey-shrike, the well-known inhabitant of northern 

 and middle Europe, Laniiis excubitor ez&Mtor Linnauis. (There are 

 also two records of the south-western or Spanish form, L. excubitor 

 meridional** Temminck, 1 and one of the Algerian race, L. ezcubitor 

 (ilgerimiit Lesson, 2 but until the specimens have been critically 

 re-examined and compared in the light of recent researches, it is 

 impossible to accept them as authenticated.) As the breeding range 

 of the race which visits us extends on the Continent from the north 

 of Scandinavia and North Russia to the Pyrenees and Alps, there is 

 no apparent reason why it should not breed with us, and, as a matter 

 of fact, circumstantial accounts of the finding of the nest and eggs 

 have appeared more than once (cf. Ibis, 1859, p. 331 ; Bird* of Wilt- 

 shire, p. 120; and Zoologist, 1878, p. 56). Unfortunately these state- 

 ments do not seem to have stood the test of investigation ; while the 

 remark of Willughby, made over two hundred years ago, that " it is 

 found in the mountainous parts of the north of England, as for 

 instance in the Peak of Derbyshire, where it is called Wierangel," 

 though it may possibly refer to a resident race long since exter- 

 minated, is quite likely to be based on casual occurrences only. At 



1 See C. R Bree, the Field. November 18, 1875 ; and J. H. Garney. TVatwarfum* Norf. and 

 Norwich Nat, Soc., vol. viii. pt. iii. (1007). Cf. British Bird*, vol. i. p. 124. 



* See %ooloa\t, 1899. p. 128; Transaction* Norf. and Nonrich Nat Soc., viii. pt. iii. p. S5& 



VOL. II. 2K 



