LANIAD^E. 49 



with some moss and fibrous roots within, and is 

 lined with bents and a few hairs. 



The male Redbacked Shrike is a handsome con- 

 spicuous bird. The beak is black, with a notch in 

 the upper mandible, like the Great Grey Shrike ; 

 round the base of the beak black hair-like feathers ; 

 a black streak extends from the base of the beak 

 round the eyes, including the ear-coverts; forehead 

 greyish white; head and neck bluish grey; back, 

 scapulars and wing-coverts rusty red; tail-coverts 

 same as the head and neck; the two central tail- 

 feathers black ; the rest white at the base, the other 

 part black ; throat white ; breast and belly white, 

 tinged with peach-colour ; under tail-coverts white ; 

 primary quills dusky, with very slight rusty red 

 edges; secondaries and tertials the same, with 

 broader rusty red edges; legs, toes and claws 

 black. 



The female has the beak dark brown ; head and 

 neck rusty brown ; back, scapulars, wing and tail- 

 coverts rusty red, not so bright as in the male ; tail 

 brownish rusty, with no white ; all the quills much 

 the same as the male, but not quite so dark ; 

 throat dirty white; a streak on the side of the 

 throat, and all the under parts dirty white, with 

 dusky semicircular lines; under tail-coverts dirty 

 white. 



Young males are like the females, except that 

 they have dark semicircular marks on the back as 



F 



