216 DENTIROSTRES. 



tipped with white ; the primary quill-feathers arc black towards 

 the tip, with the basal half white ; the secondaries only white 

 at the root, and black in the remaining part ; the tcrtials are 

 black, with white tips. The two middle tail-feathers are 

 black, with a purple gloss, the three next with white tips and 

 roots ; the two outer feathers on each side entirely white. The 

 female has all the colouring duller, particularly the breast, 

 which is marked with pale, ash-coloured undulating bars ; the 

 white tips on the wing-coverts and tertials are not so pure ; 

 and it may here be remarked, that the white tips of the wing- 

 feathers chiefly wear off before the autumnal moult. The 

 very old female nearly resembles the adult male. The young- 

 birds are much like the female, but the forehead, back, and 

 shoulders, are tinged with yellowish-brown, and bear, also, 

 indications of waving lines, which are, however, closer toge- 

 ther on the breast and sides than in the adult female. All 

 the tips of the feathers are yellowish, and there is less white 

 on the roots of the tail-feathers : the white on the tail is also 

 less. The beak is grey with a black tip, and the corners of 

 the mouth white ; the iris brownish-ash. 



Very old birds have, in some specimens, an appearance of 

 bars upon the black feathers of the tail, particularly when 

 those feathers are new. A variety has been described whose 

 feathers were entirely white, tinged with rich yellow. The 

 moult of these birds takes place in autumn. 



The Ash-coloured Shrike is an occasional winter visitant 

 with us, and known in most parts of Europe and North 

 America, with exception of the most northern parts. This 

 Shrike is usually observed to visit us in spring or in autumn. 

 We have seen a pair of these birds late in the autumn of 

 1887, in the neighbourhood of Ember Court, in Surrey, 

 where they remained for at least three weeks, showing them- 

 selves either on the ground in a meadow, or on the top 

 of a tall oak or elm-tree. It was not possible to get within 



