THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



215 



and upper tail coverts bluish grey, a band 

 across the centre of the back and wing 

 coverts, chestnut brown. Primaries and 

 secondaries blackish, the latter edged with 

 lighter. Ear coverts black. The whole of 

 the under parts pinkish white, lighter on the 

 throat and under tail coverts. Legs brown; 

 tail, two centre feathers black, the rest 

 white at the base, each succeeding feather 

 having more white than the preceeding one. 



Female, bill lighter at the base. The 

 whole of the upper parts reddish brown, 

 primaries and tail rather darker, and the 

 nape in old birds tinged with grey. Under 

 parts white, barred with brown ; tail brown, 

 outside feathers partly white. Old females 

 occasionally assume the plumage of the 

 male. 



Immature Birds resemble the female, 

 but are more barred, and rather darker in 

 colour, both on the under parts and on the 

 back. 



j A Variety of an uniform pale fawn- 

 j colour is recorded as having been killed at 

 ' Lewes {ZooL, 2698). Cream and fawn- 

 coloured ones have also occured. 



Note. — A friend who took a nest last 

 season h88i), describes the old birds as 

 ing very noisy, something like the male 

 b|)arrows, when two or three are clamouring 

 over a female. But it makes little noise 

 except when the young are in the nest. 



Flight. — The flight is strong and direct, 

 but somctiines rather wavering. 



Migration, —a summer visitor, arriv- 

 ing towards the end of April, and departing 

 at the end of September. 



Food. — The food of this Shrike consists 

 of the larger insects and small birds, and 

 young mice, field voles and shrews prin- 

 cipally. They seem to have a partiality 

 for bees. Mr. James Varley records having 

 found a large number of dead humble bees 

 under a tree that was in flower at Wood- 

 some, near Iluddcrslicld. Specimens were 



sent to the late Mr. F. Smith, of the British 

 Museum, and he gave it as his opinion that 

 it was the work of Shrikes. After this, I 

 had the satisfaction of discovering that a 

 pair of Red-backed Shrikes had bred in the 

 neighbourhood where Mr. Varley found the 

 bees. These birds have the peculiar habit 

 of fi.King their prey upon a thorn or upon a 

 forked branch, which has given to them the 

 name of Butcher-birds. The fur or feathers 

 is cast up in pellets, after the manner of the 

 hawks and owls. 



In Confinement they soon become tame, 

 and twist their food in the wires of the cage 

 when they tear it to pieces. 



Habitat. — This is a common bird in 

 most of the Southern counties of England, 

 but it is rarely found further north than 

 Yorkshire, and seems to be still rarer in 

 Scotland, and unknown in Ireland. For- 

 merly it bred frequently in the neighbour- 

 hood of Huddersfield, and still does so 

 occasionally. It frequents hedgerows and 

 thickets. 



Abroad it is found over the greater part 

 of Europe, Africa, and Western Asia. 



Nest. — The nest is generally built in a 

 thorn-hedge or some such situation. It is 

 very large for the size of the bird. The 

 one figured was kindly supplied by Mr. C. 

 A. Marriott, and is composed of grass, moss, 

 and catkins of sallow, lined with grass roots, 

 and an inner lining of horsehair. 



Eggs.— The eggs vary so much in 

 colour, that it is difficult to describe the 

 various shades. Some are rich rosy cream 

 colour, with the spots nearly blood red ; 

 others pale salmon with dark spots and 

 markings ; others stone-colour, with brown- 

 ish spots or markings, or whitish with pale 

 brown marks. Most of the spots are in a zone 

 round the larger end, but sometimes they 

 are situated round the thickest part, or at 

 the point. 



VAKiETiii s occur pure white, but arc rare. 



