THE LITTLE SHRIKE. 69 



Breeding. It builds its nest in the thick branches of high 

 trees, making it of the stalks of plants, moss, grass, swine's 

 bristles, wool, and hair. The female lays, twice a year, six 

 reddish white eggs, which are covered all over, and especially 

 at the thick end, with distinct blood-red, and indistinct bluish 

 grey spots. They are hatched in a fortnight. The nests are 

 occasionally found in high sloe, maple, and other bushes. Till 

 the first moulting, the young are on the upper part of the body 

 of a dirty white, spotted with grey, on the lower part, dirty 

 white and clouded with grey ; the wing coverts are bordered 

 with rust colour, the quill feathers and tail are a greyish black. 



Mode of Talcing. A cruel way, though the easiest, as this is 

 the least shy of all the Shrikes, is to take it in the nest with 

 limed twigs. Like the preceding, it is fond of bathing ; on 

 which account, it may be caught by water-traps about noon, if 

 laid in the neighbourhood of hedges. These Shrikes are often 

 found drowned in large pools. 



Attractive Qualities. Although this Shrike appears to have 

 almost as good a memory as the preceding, its song is not so 

 pleasant, partly because its voice is not so agreeable, and partly 

 because it introduces into the song which it imitates, some of 

 its own harsh and discordant notes. It readily adopts the songs 

 of the Nightingale, Linnet, Goldfinch, and Redstart. It is only 

 in consideration of its beautiful plumage, that this Shrike can 

 be deemed as desirable a bird for the cage as the foregoing. 



THE LITTLE SHRIKE AND THE WOODCHAT SHRIKE. 



ADDITIONAL. EENNIE states of the first of these individuals 

 of the Lanidce family, that it is certainly not a native of Britain, 

 and of the second, that it is doubtful. MUDIE, however, asserts 

 " that the Woodchat Shrike is a British bird, although rare ; it is 

 an occasional summer visitant, and does sometimes breed here, 

 the nest having been found more than once in the county of 

 Norfolk." WHITE speaks of a dead specimen which was sent 

 him, but does not say where it was found. MACGILLIVRAY says, 

 " only a few instances of the occurrence of this species in Eng- 

 land are recorded ;" and YARRELL enumerates several specimens, 

 killed, or seen in Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, York, and Worcester- 

 shire. The latter naturalist also tells us that, " in size, in most 

 of its habits, and in its mode of feeding, the Woodchat resembles 

 the common Red-backed Shrike, and like that species, is said to 

 imitate the voice of several different small birds :" and quotes the 

 account of the bird given by Mr. J. D. HAY, in a communication 



