170 
allens naturalist's library. 
to 0 tSs 0r SlSt k) ' 1 5 at L traCtiv , e ’ thm,gh not acutely necessary 
The ‘ Lli h r, k ; T V 01 , I,S als0 affected indirectly by climate 
lh tal1 tan S l ? d hedge-row ’ or ‘ Bullfinch,’ so often insisted 
upon as attractive to this bird, is certainly not essential to its 
welfare ahhought^ Butcher-bird is undoubtedly fond of these 
g hedges with their long thorns for impaling prey and the 
convenient nesting sites they afford, but they will not of them- 
North O d f f 6 Shn , ke t0 ad ^ » particular Strict In 
North Oxfordshire and in Northamptonshire tall hedges are 
common, but this Shrike is not; and I gather from a recent 
wnter that even in ‘High Leicestershire' the Butcher-bird is 
decidedly scarce. On the other hand, open commons and 
scattered^ tmshe ° f f vaile y s > if tlle y are furnished with 
scattered bushes and overgrown clumps of the same, are often 
. vouri te localities. It likes also to haunt the neighbourhood 
of gardens, and late in July and in August it often brings S 
y I ng biood into both pleasure- and kitchen-gardens.” ° 
The note of the present species is a kind of chock, generally 
ierk of the SUS ° n ,' tS perch ’ and is accompanied bv a 
juk of the head to one side or the other. Besides the small 
birds spoken of above, the Red-backed Shrike feeds princioally 
on insects, and devours humble-bees, as well as other kinds of 
bees and wasps, but it will also catch lizards and mice. 
Nest.— A ragged and untidy structure, composed of tangled 
moss and roots, lined with dry grasses, wool, and a little 
hair; it is generally found in a thorny hedge or a thicl-m 
wooded dell. Judging from the specimens Exhibited in the 
British Museum, the young birds must have some difficulty in 
keeping in the nest provided for them, as soon as they get 
to any size. 3 a 
*^.-1;°™ [our to six in number, and very variable in 
colour and markings, i he ground-colour is mainly of two 
types creamy- white or greenish-white. The former varies from 
a rich cream-colour to a clay-white, or even rufescent. The 
markings consist of clearly defined spots of rufous, with numer- 
ous and distinct underlying spots of violet-grey. There is in 
m K ? st c f s « a tendency to form a ring, generally, but not invari- 
a y, at the large end of the egg, which is sometimes covered 
by confluent spots, which form a cloud. In the greenish-white 
