THE SHRIKES. 81 



Nesting shrikes have little of the artfulness given to some 

 of the land-nesting birds, such as the lapwing and others of 

 the plover family. These are- adepts in leading a dog or his 

 master away from the position of their eggs, just as the part- 

 ridge will employ the most extraordinary artifices to attract 

 attention to herself whilst her little ones scuttle away amongst 

 the undergrowth. But the shrike, on the contrary, rather 

 shows by his fussy clamour exactly where his carelessly 

 constructed home is situated. The great grey shrike builds 

 as a rule in trees, but rarely deep in the wood, the parents 

 preferring a more open position on the outskirts. Twigs, 

 fibres, and straw form the outer materials, the lining being 

 made comfortable by feathers and other soft substances. 

 The eggs area greenish white with variously coloured blotches. 

 The red-backed shrike on the other hand builds, more fre- 

 quently in bushes, a nest of stalks lined with hair, etc. The 

 eggs vary between salmon colour with light red markings 

 and a yellowish-white with olive and lilac markings. All the 

 shrikes, notwithstanding their character otherwise, are 

 model parents, tending their young most assiduously until 

 they can take care of themselves, and then discarding them, 

 as is the general rule with birds of prey. We may end as 

 we began, the shrike is a bird more interesting than lovable. 

 He has been kept in confinement, but so far as I know has 

 never been a pet. 



