'.i' I 





H 



448 



REVIKW OP AMERICAN niRDS. 



[part I. 



30139 



liouU, tliuu thoso from the llucky AlouiituiiiH ; niid among tlicin are 



Buverul with uiiiiMUully large 

 bills, aliii08t as Ittrgu um that 

 of 6'. elegans, one uf wliii'h 

 (No. 2(5,438) int'ftsures .'(j 

 from fort'licad, .55 from nostril, 

 and 1.05 from gupc, wliitli 

 generally exceeds the average. 

 The other eharaeters, however, 

 are essw.itially thowe of cj-cuIh- 

 toroides. In nearly the whole 

 Rcries (all autumnal birds) 

 there is a decided tinge of reddish on breast and sides, which also 

 are obscurely undulated with duuky. 



Specimens from the Mississippi Valley, east of the river, ore 

 darker, with tho white markings less prominent, and with a general 

 approximation to the characters of C. ludovicianus. They, are, 

 however, usually paler than the California birds, Mexican speci- 

 mens are perhaps more like those just referred to, and loss tyj)ical, 

 although some are true and well-marked excubitoroideH. One of 

 these Mexican skins (No. 18,600) has an unusually slender and 

 deeply hooked bill. (See figure abovi.) 



In this species (?), as in C. ludovicianus, there is so much varia- 

 tion in the amount of white on the tail, as well as in the comparative 

 length of the feathers, fls to unfit these features for specific indica- 

 tion, except as a general average. 



This Shrike, in its extreme stage of coloration, differs from ludo- 

 vicianus in paler and purer color ; the ash of back lighter ; the 

 under parts brilliant white, not decidedly plumbeous on the sides as 

 in the other, and without so great a tendency to the usual obsolete 

 waved lines (noticed distinctly only in winter or immature birds) ; 

 the axillars bluish-white, not plumbeous. The white of wings and 

 tail is more extended ; the hoary of forehead and whitish of scapu- 

 lars more distinct. The bristles at base of bill somewhat involving 

 the feathers are black, forming a narrow frontal line, not seen in the 

 other. The most striking difference is in the rump and upper tail 

 coverts, which are always appreciably and abruptly lighter than 

 the back, sometimes white or only faintly glossed with plumbeous ; 

 while in typical speciiaons of ludovicianus these feathers are scarcely 

 lighter at all, and generally more or less varied with blackish spots 

 at the end. The legs and tail are apparently longer, the latter loss 



