THE GREAT CINEREOUS SHRIKE. BIKDS. THE CRESTED SHRIKE. 



341 



most abundant British species of this family ; it is a 

 summer visitor to this country, where it is most com- 

 monly seen in the southern counties, and does not 

 appear to advance further to the north than Cumber- 

 land. It arrives here from its African winter-quarters 

 about the end of April, and quits us again in September. 

 This bird is found in most parts of Europe, as far north 

 as Norway and Sweden; in Africa it has been met with 

 in various places from Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope. 

 The male is about seven inches and a half in length ; 

 the female a little larger. The male has the back of 

 the head and neck gray, the chin and throat white, and 

 a band running over the base of the bill, and through 

 the eyes, black; the back and wing-coverts are chestnut- 

 red, the upper tail-coverts gray, the wings black, with 

 the margins of the feathers red, and the lower surface 

 pale red. The two middle tail-feathers are black, the 

 rest white at the base, and black at the extremity, the 

 extreme tips of all being white. The female has the 

 whole upper surface reddish-brown, with no black on 

 the head, the tail brown, and the lower surface grayish- 

 white, with numerous brownish transverse lines. The 

 food of the Eed-backed Shrike consists partly of insects, 

 particularly the common cockchafer ; and partly of 

 small vertebrate animals, such as mice, shrews, and 

 small birds. Of the latter it has been known to kill 

 birds as large as finches, and has even been seen in 

 pursuit of a blackbird. In common with many other 

 species of this family, this bird has the singular habit 

 of hanging up its prey, either by fixing it in the forked 

 branch of a tree or shrub, or by impaling it upon a 

 thorn, so as to pluck off the feathers of birds, and tear 

 away their limbs with more facility. Even its insect 

 prey is served in this way, cockchafers being often 

 found impaled by it upon a thorn passing through the 

 thorax, and with the abdomen torn away. From this 

 curious habit the Shrikes are frequently called Butcher- 

 birds. 



The Red-backed Shrike makes a large nest of a 

 cup-like form, composed of the coarse stalks of plants, 

 moss, and roots, and lined with bents and hair. The 

 nest is placed in a strong hedge or thick bush, and 

 contains four or five eggs, which vary in colour, being 

 either bluish, greenish, or reddish-white, and spotted 

 with different shades of brown. The ordinary note of 

 the male is a chirping noise, like that of a sparrow; but 

 he is said sometimes to utter a sort of song. 



THE GREAT CINEREOUS SHRIKE (Lanius exculritor) 

 Plate 11, fig. 37 is also met with in this country, 

 but appears to be only an occasional visitor here ; on 

 the continent of Europe it is a well-known bird, and is 

 abundant in France. It is a good deal larger than the 

 preceding species, measuring about ten inches in length ; 

 the head is marked with black as in the Red-backed 

 Shrike ; the upper surface is pearly-gray, the lower 

 surface pure white, and the wings and tail are black ; 

 the former with a white bar near the base of each fea- 

 ther, and the latterwith each quill tipped with white, the 

 amount of white increasing toward the sides of the tail. 

 The female resembles the male, but is duller in colour. 



In its habits this bird agrees with the preceding, and 

 its food consists of mice, shrews, small birds, frogs, 

 lizards, and insects. These it fixes upon a thorn or 



forked branch, before proceeding to devour them ; and 

 it is a popular notion that the bird captures nine birds 

 or other animals, and suspends them in this way, 

 before beginning to eat any of them. Hence is derived 

 one of its common names Ninekiller. It is a bold and 

 combative bird, attacking crows and other birds much 

 larger than itself, when they come into its haunts; and 

 it has even been used instead of a falcon to fly at small 

 birds. The foreign falconers often make a very dif- 

 ferent use of it, employing it in trapping hawks during 

 the autumn and winter. The Shrike is fastened to the 

 ground, and, on the approach of the hawk, begins 

 screaming loudly, and thus gives the falconer notice 

 of the fact ; from this he is called excubitor, or the 

 sentinel. 



THE WOOD-CHAT (Lanius rutilus) is about the size 

 of the Red-backed Shrike, but has the back of the 

 head and neck rich chestnut-red, the back black, and 

 the lower surface white. In its habits, it resembles 

 the Red-backed Shrike, and like it is a summer visitor 

 to Europe, in the southern parts of which it is not 

 uncommon, but does not advance far towards the 

 north, and is only an occasional visitor to this country. 

 It builds its nest upon the forked branch of a tree, 

 generally selecting an oak. 



THE AMERICAN GRAY SHRIKE (Lanius borealis), 

 a common species in the United States, resembles the 

 Cinereous Shrike of Europe in size and general aspect, 

 and indeed, was formerly regarded as identical with 

 it. The principal differences consist in the presence 

 of transverse dusky lines on the lower surface, and in 

 the bluish colour of the bill, which has the tip alone 

 black ; the whole bill being black in the European 

 species. In its habits, this bird agrees with its eastern 

 congeners, feeding on small vertebrate animals and 

 insects, which it impales upon thorns ; amongst insects, 

 grasshoppers are said to be its favourite food. 



THE LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (Lanius ludovicianus), 

 another American species, is found only in the 

 southern states of the American Union. It is common 

 in the rice -fields of Carolina and Georgia, where it is 

 regarded with favour, on account of its destroying 

 mice, for which it will watch for hours, like a cat, 

 beside the stacks of rice. It also devours crickets and 

 grasshoppers. 



THE CRESTED SHRIKE (Lanius cristatus). Numer- 

 ous species of shrikes inhabit India and the neighbour- 

 ing countries ; and amongst these, the commonest is 

 the Crested Shrike. It is about the size of our Red- 

 backed Shrike ; the head is crested, and has a black 

 spot on the ears ; the plumage is reddish-brown above, 

 pale tawny beneath, with transverse brownish lines ; 

 the tail is reddish. This bird resembles the preceding 

 species in habits, preying, like them, upon insects and 

 small birds, and building its nest in thickets and 

 bushes. It has a peculiarly harsh chattering note ; 

 which, according to Mr. Blyth, affords one of the 

 earliest intimations of the advent of the cold season in 

 Calcutta, when it is heard with a favour not due to 

 its musical properties. 



THE INDIAN GREY SHRIKE (TepTirodornis pondi- 

 ceriana) is a common bird in Southern India, but also 

 occurs in Nepal and other northern districts, being 



