THE GREAT GREY SHRIKE. 5 
FAMILY LANIIDA. 
HE Shrikes or Butcher-birds form a large and well-defined group of birds of 
somewhat predaceous habits, strong in their bills, but comparatively weak 
in their claws. The mandibles are short and thick, the upper one with curved 
culmen always with a tolerably well-defined terminal hook, preceded, on the inferior 
or cutting edge, by a slight sinus, behind which is a prominent wedge-shaped 
tooth; the nostrils are oval, lateral, and basal, and there are well-defined rictal 
bristles, as in the Flycatchers. 
Dr. Hans Gadow greatly extends the family, to include many types, observing 
that the diagnosis of the Zaniide * * as given by Mr. Sharpe * * is applicable to 
Lanius only: he, however, admits that the family, as defined by himself, contains 
some very aberrant forms, and I think all naturalists will agree that this should 
not be the case, if there is any way of avoiding it. Families, Subfamilies, and 
genera are conveniences, and the more sharply they can be defined, the more 
convenient they are; it is far better to have a small and compact family, than a 
large and heterogeneous one. 
Dr. Gadow observes in his Catalogue that ‘‘ The Zanzide, as described in this 
volume, form neither a group complete in itself, nor are the lines of distinction 
always drawn closely enough.” 
Most of the Shrikes are inhabitants of the Old World: in Great Britain they 
are represented .by the typical genus Zaniws alone—a group which contains alto- 
gether about forty species, four of which have been obtained on our shores, though 
only two of these appear to breed with us. 
Some authorities consider the Shrikes to be nearly related to the Crows; in- 
deed Seebohm made them a Subfamily close to the Coruna, although he admitted 
that their ‘‘exact affinities are very difficult to determine”; he considered that they 
approached the Crows in the form of their bills, the strong bristles, and short 
feathers partly covering the nostrils, and in their feet. Howard Saunders, from 
the position which he assigns to them in his Manual, seems to regard them as 
more nearly related to the Flycatchers.* 
* See also Lord Lilford’s note at end of account of the Woodchat-Shrike. 
