66 BIRDS OF THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. 



by Swainson in the Fauna Boreali Americana. These birds, of 

 which I have seen at least two dozen, are of both sexes. In two 

 or three instances the specimens have shown the under markings 

 to be nearly obliterated, and may be said to have a strong resem- 

 blance to another species figured in the same work L. excubitor o'ides. 

 I have never, except in one solitary instance, met with what 

 some ornithologists would regard as a male in perfect adult plum- 

 age; it was killed near Glammis, in Forfarshire, and is now in my 

 own collection. This specimen is entirely without bars or freckles, 

 and has two conspicuous spots on the wing, besides having the 

 secondaries broadly margined with white. The markings are very 

 clearly defined, and form a striking contrast. If all the other 

 Shrikes I have examined are females and young males, as some of 

 my correspondents have suggested, it is clear that the male in adult 

 plumage is a very rare bird with us. 



Swainson, in describing his American excubitor aides, founds a 

 specific distinction from the European excubitor in the black patch 

 on the cheek of the former extending in a thin line above the eye, 

 and also meeting over the base of the upper mandible, and in 

 its having a black bill. Professor Baird follows that author in 

 regarding this Shrike as distinct from L. excubitoi', and points out 

 another feature, namely, the white rump, which none of the others 

 apparently possess. Out of the twenty-four birds I have referred 

 to, eight of which are now before me, scarcely two can be said to 

 be alike; and if a species is to be formed out of differences in the 

 distribution of the black patch on the cheek, markings on the tail 

 feathers, or on the primaries or secondaries, or even on the size of 

 specimens, there is room enough here for the most ardent species 

 maker. So far as I can judge by descriptions, the Shrikes I have 

 seen killed in Scotland present a mixture of the alleged characters 

 of L. borealis, ludovicianus, excubitor, and excubitor dides, a seeming 

 confusion, however, which might be greatly modified had we the 

 opportunity of comparing British killed specimens at all seasons 

 of the year. 



