THE SHRIKES. 165 



Like many of the birds of prey, the Great Grey Shrike throws 

 up pellets, and, according to Nauman, remains of beetles 

 and grasshoppers, frogs, lizards, and blind-worms are found 

 among its castings in summer time, but in winter only bones 

 of mice and feathers of birds are found in the Shrike's 

 pellets." 



Nest. Composed of twigs, grass, and moss, with a lining 

 of roots, wool, and hair. It is a somewhat clumsily built 

 structure. 



Eggs. From five to seven in number. The ground-colour 

 is either pale greenish-white or brownish-white, the latter 

 being the more usual type of the two. A few have the 

 ground-colour white, without any greenish tinge. The spots 

 are rather heavy and of an olive-brown or greenish -brown tint, 

 sometimes distributed over the egg, but in other instances 

 clustering round the larger end, and occasionally clouding the 

 whole of the egg. Axis, i'o-i'i inch ; diam., o'75-o'8. 



III. PALLAS'S GREAT GREY SHRIKE. LANIUS SIBIRICUS. 



Lanius major (" nee. Wilkes," teste Stejneger), Pallas, Zoogr. 



Ross. Asiat, i., p. 402 (1811); Gadow, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., 



viii., p. 239 (1883) ; Seebohm, Brit. B., i., p. 595 (1883); 



Saunders, Man., p. 139 (1889). 

 Lanius sibiricus^ Bogd. ; Stejneger, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvi., 



p. 217. 



(Plate XVIII.} 



Adult Male. Similar to Z. excubitor, but having only one 

 white wing-patch, formed by the white base of the primary- 

 quills, the secondaries entirely black at the base and not show- 

 ing any trace of the second white patch so conspicuous in true 

 Z. excubitor ; there seems to be also less white on the inner 

 webs of the inner secondaries underneath, and the lower primary 

 coverts are also somewhat more pronounced ashy-brown ; bill, 

 feet, and iris, coloured as in Z. excubitor. Total length, 9-5 

 inches; culmen, 075; wing, 4*5; tail, 4*4; tarsus, 1-05. 



Adult Female Similar to the male in colour. 



