a 
Ca Ps eggt se, > 
? - * ft) 
MG ein z 
heads are often torn 
off beforehand. And 
the thorns are thrust between the skin and the muscles 
with so much force that they cannot be withdrawn without 
a good deal of difficulty. 
The red-backed shrike builds in hedges, or large 
bushes, generally at the height of five or six feet from 
the ground. But I have found its nest in quite a low 
clump of brambles. It is a big and rather untidy structure, 
made of grass, moss, and roots, and lined with wool 
and hair. 
19 
