20 GREAT GREY SIIBTKE. 



south, and never visits the centre or the north of Europe. Its habits 

 are nearly the same as those of the Grey Shrike, fexcuhitor,) from 

 which, however, it constantly differs by the much darker ash-colour 

 of the upper parts of its body, and by the wine lees colour distri- 

 buted in different shades upon all the under parts of the body. 

 This race, which might also be called a species, seems always to 

 have the same marks by which it is easily distinguished from L. 

 excuhitor, without offering by its plumage any indication of a union 

 of the species. I do not think the races do mix, though this may 

 take place in districts where they are both found, or where one is more 

 numerous than the other." 



The Great Grey Shrike is an inhabitant of Italy, Dalmatia, the 

 South of France, and the Spanish coast of the Mediterranean, and is 

 found in Greece. It has been killed by M. Savi in Tuscany, and 

 by Prince C. Bonaparte near Rome. It occurs accidentally in the 

 North of Africa. 



Count Von der Miihle says: — "L. vieridionalis is found, though not 

 commonly, among the bushes in growing meadows. It breeds in 

 Greece. It is very like excuhitor, when young, but it has the four 

 centre tail feathers a beautiful black. It is rarely seen here after 

 the end of August." 



According to Degland it nests in trees. It lays five or six eggs, of 

 a dirty white or reddish white, with small spots, numerous and close 

 together, of a dull red, brown, and grey. Length, — long diameter one 

 inch, small diameter nine lines. 



In the "Fauna Boreali Americana" there is an excellent picture of 

 the North American Shrike, [Lanius excuhitoroides ,) which Swainson 

 occupies three or four pages in endeavouring to prove is a new 

 species, and different both from the L. Carolinensis of Wilson, and 

 the L. Ludovicianus of Linnaeus. He also says that Vieillot's L. 

 ardosiaceus is an imaginary species, made up of L. horealis, the Great 

 American Grey Shrike, and Wilson's Carolinensis. If Swainson's 

 description is, however, true, whatever may be the specific mark of 

 L. meridionalis , there can be no doubt about Wilson's Carolinensis, 

 and the L. meridionalis of Temminck being the same bird. Swainson 

 insists upon the importance of the four middle tail feathers of L. 

 Carolinensis being a strong distinctive character between that bird 

 and his L. excuhitoroides. If it is the only one, and he only adduces 

 the additional characteristic of "a darker slate," then it is quite 

 certain that my supposition is right. The description of M. Temminck 

 of his L. meridionalis is (with the exception of the four middle tail 

 feathers being quite black instead of two) precisely corresponding to 



