58 THE GREAT, OR ASH-COLOURED SHRIKE. 
have the base of the primaries white, forming a 
triangular mark on these parts, and the exterior 
tail feathers, with the tips of all the rest, except 
the two in the centre, the space widening to the 
outside, are of the same pure tint. The female 
has the colours in general duller, and the breast 
is undulated with narrow dusky transverse bars. 
Temminck mentions the occurrence of a variety 
nearly pure white, having the black parts slightly 
tinted with grey. The young are tinted with 
brownish purple on the grey parts, and have the 
breast, belly, and vent, of a reddish or yellowish 
white, thickly barred transversely with umber 
brown. The dark parts of the plumage are not 
so intense, or so defined in their boundaries. 
In the British islands, the Grey Shrike can only 
be viewed as an occasional visitant, and that even 
of rare occurrence, except in some of the southern 
and midland counties. There, during the winter 
months, and towards the approach of spring, strag- 
gling specimens are frequently procured ; towards 
the north, and on the confines of the border, it 
becomes less frequent ; in the south of Scot- 
land it is a rare bird, a few instances only of its 
capture having occurred to our notice ; while 
in Ireland, according to the observations of Mr 
Thompson, it seems to be equally rare.* No in- 
stances of this species breeding in this country 
• See Mag. of Zool. and Bot. ii. p, 427, for instances 
of capture in Ireland. 
