Birds. 2735 



that is necessary : there must be no concealed spot there, as appears 

 in many specimens of the English species. All the specimens of the 

 latter have in fact two spots of white on the wing, that on the se- 

 condaries occupying in some specimens a very small space at their 

 base; and these individuals have also a small proportion of white on 

 the tail. Other specimens have the white on the secondaries a little 

 more extended, so as to show a very small spot of white on the closed 

 wing, and these have a corresponding greater proportion of white on 

 the outer tail-feathers ; and so we proceed until we have the full-sized 

 patches on both primaries and secondaries, and the outer tail-feather 

 entirely white. This is probably the adult condition of the bird. 

 Now my bird is without even the slightest trace of white at the base 

 of the secondary quills ; and from the pure gray of the upper parts, 

 the pure black of the wings and tail, the well-defined white tips of the 

 secondary and tertial quills, and the exceedingly faint indications of 

 crescentic gray markings on the breast, it may fairly be supposed that 

 it is an old individual. Dissection proved it to be a male. A speci- 

 men which died lately at the gardens of the Zoological Society, 

 received alive from America, resembles the Warwickshire bird, except 

 that the whole of the colours are less pure, and it is thickly marked 

 with gray bars and crescents on all the under parts : when dissected, 

 this bird was found to be a female. I may add, that it is the full opinion 

 of Mr. Yarrell that the specimen I have described is identical with 

 Swainson's Lanius Excubitorides ; and I have to thank that gentleman 

 for the great trouble he has taken in the examination of various spe- 

 cimens and descriptions of shrikes for my satisfaction. Mr. George 

 Gray has offered me every opportunity of examining specimens in the 

 British Museum. 



In the way of synonymy I can only refer to the ' Fauna Boreali- 

 Americana ' of Richardson and Swainson with certainty ; but believe 

 that it is the same as the Lanius Ludovicianus of Audubon, as Lanius 

 Excubitorides is included in the synonyms of that species in the 

 ' Synopsis of the Birds of North America.' 



Lanius Excubitorides, Stvains. fy- Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. 2, p. 115, pi. 34. 

 Lanius Ludovicianus (Linn.), Aud. Synop. of Birds of Amer. p. 158. 



R. F. Tomes. 



Welford, Stratford-on-Avon, 

 January 19, 1850. 



