RED-BACKED SHEIKE. 183 



growth, and is generally seen in pairs. Mr. Mudie's account 

 of the locality of this species is one of the most extraordinary 

 of the many extraordinary ones he has promulgated. He says 

 that though it is a short- winged bird, and therefore 'gets 

 through the air with more labour' than many of the birds 

 which are found in the south-eastern part of the island; it 

 'leaves the gravelly and clayey districts, and takes up its 

 abode in a central zone, beginning at the channel and termi- 

 nating at the light soils.' He has himself correctly described 

 this as 'the most remarkable part of its natural history;' 

 'the climate of that zone is warm, and the soil peculiarly 

 adapted to the habits of the larger beetles, which seem the 

 natural and peculiar food of these birds.' He very properly 

 adds that the 'habits of the Red-backed Shrike deserve to be 

 studied.' Its name of 'Flusher,' he considers to be a corrup- 

 tion of 'Flasher,' from its looking like a 'flash of fire' in 

 darting through the air; but I think it much more probable 

 that it is derived from 'Flesher,' another word for a butcher, 

 the name of the bird itself. 



The Red-backed Shrike arrives in this country at the end 

 of April or the beginning of May, and quits it again in Sep- 

 tember or October. 



This species also seems to be distinguished for affection 

 towards its partner and its young. The following anecdote, 

 illustrative of this its disposition, is recorded by Meyer: 'A 

 male Red-backed Shrike was caught in a garden by a cat; 

 the gardener, who saw the circumstance, succeeded in rescuing 

 it from the animal the very moment it happened, in time 

 to save its life. It was put into a cage and placed in a 

 sitting-room, in the house close by. There were several persons 

 in the room at the time; but notwithstanding their moving 

 about, the female, its companion, came in at the window, 

 settled on the cage, and was secured by one of the party, 

 without attempting to fly away ; they were subsequently both 

 placed in the same cage.' He further adds 'the female will 

 hardly fly from the nest when she has eggs; and if disturbed 

 after the young are hatched, both parents remain either in 

 the bush that contains the nest, or on a neighbouring tree, 

 until the danger is past; and, to draw off attention from the 

 spot, they keep moving in opposite directions, uttering all the 

 while their alarm-cry. We have seen them help the young 

 ones out of the nest for the purpose of hiding them in the 

 thicket beneath; and the moment they have reached the 



