GOLDEN ORIOLE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 33 



Family ORIQLIDM. 



GOLDEN OEIOLE (Oriolus galbula). 



An annual spring migrant, more especially in the South. It 

 has bred with us, and doubtless would do so annually if " col- 

 lectors " would allow it. 



Haunts. Gardens, plantations, woods, &c. 



Plumage. Lores black ; wings black, margined and tipped 

 with yellowish white. Tail yellowish, tipped with black ; other- 

 wise golden yellow. Bill red. Legs lead-colour. Length 9 in. 

 Female duller and greener, with reddish markings rather than 

 black ; under parts streaked with greyish. Young duller than 

 female. 



Language. Song not extensive, but melodious and flute- 

 like " weet-li-wee-o.*' Call-note, a harsh " khrr." 



Habits. Although not averse to man's haunts, it is very 

 shy, and prefers to sit in the umbrageous shelter of some thick 

 tree, as though self-conscious of its brilliant exotic colouring. 

 It flies like a thrush, only more undulatingly. 



Food. Insects and their larvas, spiders, &c. ; specially fond 

 of cherries. 



Nest. May or June. Probably one brood only. 



Site. Usually suspended at the end of some small bough of 

 an oak or fir-tree. 



Materials. Bark-strips, grasses, and wool lined with grass ; 

 hammock-like in appearance 



Eggs. Four to five. Glossy white, spotted with dark brown. 



Family LANIIDJE. 



GKEAT GREY SHEIKE (Lanius excubitor). 



A fairly frequent visitor in autumn and winter ; it has not 

 been proved to breed here. 



Plumage. Eye-stripe white ; lores and ear-coverts black ; 

 upper parts pearl-grey, whiter on the scapulars. Wings black ; 

 primaries and secondaries tipped with white. Tail black, 

 tipped with white ; outer tail-feathers white ; under parts 

 white. Bill black, and slightly hooked. Legs black. Length 

 9 in. Female duller, and faintly barred on under parts with 

 greyish brown. 



Language. Call-note, " tru-i-i " ; alarm-note, " shake- 

 shake." 



Habits. Flight strong and undulating. Like the other 

 Shrikes, it is predaceous, perching like a sentinel at the top of 

 some tree, watching its quarry, upon which it pounces, and 

 d 



