418 
Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain on the 
as by its stouter bill. This is one of the most striking of 
Corsiean birds, and is a summer visitor to the island in 
considerable numbers, arriving first about April 15-24, and 
being distributed throughout most of the low ground and in 
the hills, where there is open ground and cultivation, up to 
about 2500 ft. (For a fuller account of its habits as observed 
in Corsica by the writer see f British Birds/ iii. pp. 369-370.) 
The nest is quite characteristic, and is usually placed higher 
than that of L. collurio jourdaini, while the eggs, which are 
from five to seven in number, are generally laid by the fourth 
week in May. They do not vary much as a rule, but White- 
head found one clutch of salmon-coloured eggs out of twenty 
examined, and I obtained two sets of this beautiful variety 
in 1909. Average size of sixty Corsican eggs, 23*llx 
17*27mm.; max. 26 x 17 5 and 22*2x18*2, min. 22 x 16 5. 
Hartert states (Vog. pal. Fauna, i. p. 437) that some Sar¬ 
dinian and Corsican specimens, which from the dates are 
presumably passage migrants, are indistinguishable from the 
ordinary continental form, Lanins senator senator L. 
52. Lanius collurio jourdaini Parr. Corsican Red- 
backed Shrike. 
Lanius collurio jourdaini Parrot, Orn. Monatsber. xviii. 
p. 154 (1910—Corsica). 
Local name : Ciuchana. This form was separated by 
Dr. Parrot on account of its generally smaller dimensions 
and shorter wing, the deeper colouring of the under surface, 
especially on the flanks, the smaller amount of red-brown on 
the back, and the generally wider black band on the outer 
tail-feathers. Kleinsclimidt (Orn. Monatsber. 1901, ix. 
p. 169) noticed that in Sardinian specimens the amount of 
red on the mantle was much reduced and the under surface 
whiter, but these characters seem to be somewhat un¬ 
reliable. In eighteen examples examined by Dr. Parrot and 
myself the wing varies from 87 to 91 mm. in length, only once 
attaining 92*5, while in continental specimens it varies from 
91 to 98. This Shrike is a common summer visitor to the 
hills as well as to the plains, arriving, according to Whitehead, 
