io8 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



THE ASH-COLOURED SHRIKE. 



GREATER BUTCHER BIRD. 



(Lanius Exaibitor, Linn. Pic-gricchc grisc, Temm.) 



THE length about ten inches. Its bill is black, 

 and furnished with bristles at the base: the upper 

 parts of its plumage pale blue ash ; under parts 

 white ; a black stripe passes through each eye ; the 

 greater quills are black, with a large white spot at 

 the base, forming a bar of that colour across the 

 wing; the lesser quills are white at the tips; the 

 scapulars white; the two middle feathers of the 

 tail black ; the next on each side are white at 

 the ends, gradually increasing to the outermost, 

 which are nearly all white ; the whole, when the 

 tail is spread, forms a large oval spot of black ; 

 the legs are black. The female differs little from 

 the male; she lays six eggs, of a dull olive green, 

 spotted at the end with black. 



