728 The Sparrow-like Birds 



are frequently added ; they hop with remarkable agility over the broken surface 

 of the ground, and leap from branch to branch with great alacrity; their flight 

 is feeble and protracted, and they seldom mount high in the air, except for the 

 purpose of crossing a gully, or for passing from one part of the forest to another, 

 and then merely over the tops of the trees; during flight they utter a peculiar 

 shrill cry, which is frequently repeated and answered by other birds of the same 

 troop, for they mostly flit about in small companies of from four to six in num- 

 ber. All the species occasionally descend to the cultivated grounds, orchards, 

 and gardens, and commit considerable havoc among their fruits and grain ; in 

 many parts of Australia, and particularly Tasmania, they form an article of 

 food and are considered good and even delicate eating. They usually build 

 open cup-shaped nests as large as that of the Crow, composed of sticks and 

 other coarse materials, lined with grasses, etc. ; the eggs are generally three, but 

 sometimes four in number." One of the best-known species is the Pied Crow- 

 Shrike (S. graculina), which is widely spread over South and East Australia; the 

 color is a fine bluish black, with the basal half of the primaries and the basal 

 half of the tips of the tail-feathers, as well as the under tail-coverts, snow-white. 



The largest genus of Crow-Shrikes is Cracticus, which includes about a dozen 

 species of smaller birds, from ten to thirteen inches long, with a bill like that of 

 the Piping Crows, but stouter and more strongly hooked; they likewise have a 

 plumage exhibiting only black, white, and gray. They feed upon small quad- 

 rupeds, birds, lizards, and insects, which they frequently impale after the man- 

 ner of the ordinary Shrikes. 



The only member of the subfamily showing red in the plumage is an anoma- 

 lous appearing bird of Borneo (Pityriasis gymnocephala), which has the head 

 partially bare and the feathers of the crown, ear-coverts, and lower throat trans- 

 formed into very peculiar structures. About ten inches long, it is grayish black 

 above, the bare portion of the head yellow, and the loral pldrnes, sides of the 

 face, entire throat, and a neck collar brilliant scarlet. 



True Shrikes. The Shrikes par excellence are comprised in the subfamily 

 Lamina, and with few exceptions are birds of small size, at least as compared 

 with those already considered, being mostly under ten inches in length. They 

 are robust, stocky birds, with a rather lax, never brilliantly colored, plumage, and 

 a very strong bill which is both hooked and notched. The round nostrils are 

 situated near the base of the bill, being usually completely ossified and partly 

 covered with feathers and bristles. The wings are short and rounded though 

 powerful, and possess ten primaries, of which the outer is sometimes rudimentary, 

 but usually more than half the length of the ninth; the tail of twelve feathers 

 may be graduated or square, but never forked. The scutellated tarsi are short 

 and the feet moderately strong, though it would seem quite out of keeping with 

 their rapacious habits. The plumage is soft and blended, the predominating 

 colors being plain gray, brown, or rufous, varied with black and white; the 

 sexes are usually alike in color, but the young may always be known by having 

 the plumage more or less distinctly barred or vermiculated. 



With the exception of less than half a dozen outlying species (referred to 



