informs me that in the neighbourhood of Darmstadt it 

 is a regular but not very abundant summer visitor, that 

 it breeds very late, generally placing its nest of twigs 

 and dry roots lined with wool, hair, and feathers either 

 in fruit-trees or in the poplars so common along the 

 roadsides in Germany, at a height of from 20 to 25 feet 

 from the ground. The eggs, generally five or six in 

 number, are of a greenish white, spotted and blotched 

 with brown and grey ; in habits this bird resembles the 

 other European Shrikes, its food consisting principally 

 of insects. I have kept one or two of these birds in 

 captivity, but cannot recommend them as cage-birds, as 

 I found them wild, sulky, and very fastidious feeders. 



