INSESSORES. 33 



London, by a birdcatcher, in the act of striking at 

 his decoy linnet. This bird fed well in confinement, 

 several times taking small birds or raw meat from 

 the hand ; but was very eagerly parted with by his 

 new master on finding that the note of the Shrike, 

 once heard, had stopped the songs of all his wild 

 birds." 



Mr. Spencer tells me that, in November, 1831, he 

 saw a fine Grey Shrike in a field between Kilburn 

 and Hampstead. A male of this species was shot at 

 Wembley Park in January, 1841, by the gardener of 

 the Eev. Mr. Gray, and two were obtained at Kentish 

 Town and Kilburn in the winter of 1850, as recorded 

 by Mr. Newman in ' The Zoologist ' for that year. 

 A keeper with whom I am acquainted caught one of 

 these birds in a net near Harrow, and subsequently 

 shot another in the same neighbourhood. 



A specimen in my own collection was shot, in the 

 adjoining parish of Hendon, in the winter of 1854. 

 This bird, when first seen, was flying along the 

 brook between Hendon and the Hyde, in pursuit of 

 a small bird, and the shooter at the time was igno- 

 rant of the species. He told me afterwards that, 

 although he had lived many years in the neighbour- 

 hood, and had shot a great number of birds, some of 

 them rare, yet this is the only bird of the kind he 

 had ever seen. 



As recently as November, 1862, a specimen of 

 this Shrike was killed near Kentish Town. 



