THE ZooLocist—Novemser, 1875. 4691 
warm when brought to me.—Richard P. Nicholls ; Kingsbridge, October 5, 
1875. 
Note on the Lesser Gray Shrike —It may be desirable to record that 
the lesser gray shrike noticed by Mr. Stevenson (Zool. 8. 8. 46338), as 
having been recently captured at Great Yarmouth, is now in my collection. 
—J. H. Gurney ; Northrepps, Norwich, October UES Whit 
The Redbacked Shrike a Butcher,—My. Gatcombe makes mention of a 
pair of redbacked shrikes transfixing a small bird to a thorn bush (S.S. 4686). 
Perhaps this habit is too well established how to require any further instances 
as proof that the title of “butcher” is not merited by the gray sort alone H 
but Yarrell, in his first edition, says, “Its inclination to attack, and its 
power of destroying, little birds has been doubted,” and, as I see the 
sentence is not struck out in the fourth edition, I take this opportunity of 
recording what happened at Runton, near Cromer, the summer before last. 
The keeper missed several pheasants about three days old. Suspecting who 
was the marauder, he carefully hid up, and saw a redbacked shrike bearing 
one of them off. He then shot the shrike and its mate, and found their 
larder, as others have been described, upon a thorn bush. He brought 
them to us, but I regret to say that we were absent, and thus missed seeing 
the birds and their larder. It is a thing I have often wished to see, but 
though I have been in countries Where shrikes of different sorts are 
plentiful, I never came across one.—J. H. Gurney, jun. ; Northrepps Hall, 
Norwich. 
Note on the Small Parrot of Natal.—My. Forbes’ suggestion as to the 
small parrot mentioned by Messrs. Woodward as occurring in Natal, con- 
tained in the ‘ Zoologist’ for October (S. S. 4664), is valuable, and I trust 
that Messrs. Woodward will send specimens to England for identification. 
Psittacula passerina was included in Mr. Layard’s ‘ Catalogue of the Birds 
of South Africa’ (first edition) by a perpetuation of an error of Buffon’s, and 
this circumstance probably led to the misnomer of the Natal bird. Mr. E. C, 
Buxton, who visited Natal a few years since, supplied me with the following 
note, which probably refers to the same species :—* There certainly is a 
parroqueet, not roseicollis, found in the forests of Natal, as I saw P. Levail- 
lantii and another bird very much smaller, which I took to be “ passerina,” 
but could not be sure, as it was young, and the plumage in bad condition. 
They were both taken from the nest near Cremer’s, Unyeni Falls, Nata].”— 
J. H. Gurney. 
Pied Flycatcher at Brighton.—A young male pied flycatcher (Muscicapa 
luctuosa) flew in at an open window of the Grand Hotel, and was caught, 
in the first week of October. It was purchased by Mr, Swaysland.— 
George Swaysland, jun. ; 4, Queen’s Road, Brighton. 
Varieties of Blackbird and Thrush.—The anomaly of a white blackbird 
(S. S. 4538) has more than once been recorded in the ¢ Zoologist.’ A bird 
