LANIUS. 
induced me to range it with the fhrikes 5 though its tail 
is different, being forked, while that of the fhrike has the 
longed feathers in the middle. Its bill is ftrong, thick, 
and arched, nearly like that of a fparrow-hawk, but longer 
in proportion to its thicknefs, lefs hooked, and with wide 
nottrils. The bafe of the upper mandible is befet with 
ftiff hairs. The whole of the head, neck, back, and the 
c-overts of the wings, are of a thining black, with reflec¬ 
tions of blue, purple, and green, varying according to its 
pofition. The bread is of an afh-colour, dufky, and 
blackilh. All the belly, the legs, and the coverts of the 
under fide of the tail, are white; the legs, the feet, and 
the nails, are blackilh brown. It inhabits Bengal, where 
it is called fenga/i. It is called alfo by the Indians the 
king of the crows, from its purfuing thefe birds from place 
to place with a great noife, and pecking them on the back 
till they efcape. 
3. Lanius Malabaricus, the Malabar fhrike: bodybluifh- 
black; quill and tail-feathers black; outer tail-feathers 
long, without webs, except on the outer fide near the 
end. Inhabits Malabar; feventeen inches long; head 
fometimes creded. 
4. Lanius cadaneus, the chefnut (hrike : tail wedged ; 
middle tail-feathers at the tip, outer ones entirely, rulfy ; 
body above chefnut, beneath white. Ten inches long. 
Bill, wings, and legs, black; front black brown; crown, 
hind-head, nape, and neck, cinereous. 
5. Lanius cridatus, the creded red fhrike: tail,wedged ; 
head creded; body reddidi, beneath waved with tawny 
and brown. Bill horny; behind the eyes a black crefcent; 
tail above rufous, beneath grey ; legs and claws black ; 
cred fometimes wanting. Inhabits Bengal; fix inches 
and a half long. 
6 . Lanius Canadenfis, the creded fhrike: fimilar to the 
lad, except that the under parts are whiter. Inhabits Ca¬ 
nada; has on the crown of its head a foft cred, with long 
feathers that fall backwards. It is fix inches and a half 
long, and fometimes wants the cred. 
7. Lanius Ludovicianus, the Louifiana fhrike: tail 
wedged, cinereous ; body cinereous, beneath whitifh. 
Under the eyes a black band ; fix middle tail-feathers 
black, the red white at the root and tip; fecondary quill- 
feathers white at the tip. Inhabits Louifiana; about eight 
inches long. 
, 8 . Lanius nengeta, the grey fhrike: tail wedged, white 
at the tip; body cinereous, beneath whitifh. Length nine 
or ten inches. Bill dulky, befet with bridles at the bafe ; 
irides fapphire-coloured ; from the angles of the mouth, 
through the eyes, runs a black dreak. The upper parts of 
the bodyare of a dark brownifh alh-colour; the under parts 
white; in the middle of the wing are a few 7 white feathers; 
the quills and tail are nearly black ; and all the feathers of 
the lad, except the two middle ones, are obliquely tipped 
with white ; the legs are of a dark alh-colour; the claws 
black. Thefe birds are found at Surinam and Brafil. 
They are common likewife at Guiana, where they fre¬ 
quent watery places, and celled! in great numbers to¬ 
gether. They are obferved at frequent intervals to fet 
up a great cry all together; which affords a happy and 
certain prefage to the thirdy traveller, in the immenfe fo- 
reds of Guiana, of water being at hand. 
9. Lanius curvirodris, the hook-billed fhrike: tail wedge- 
fhaped, the body white, the back black, the five fird quills 
of the wings marked with a white fpot. This bird was 
fent from Madagafcar by Poivre under the name of vanga. 
Though confiderably diderent from the fhrikes, it feems 
to be more related to them than any other birds of Eu¬ 
rope. It feeds upon fruits; and is ten inches long. 
jo: Lanius collaris, the collared fhrike: tail wedged ; 
body black, beneath white, fird quill-feathers white at the 
bale. This fpecies of butcher-bird is named jifcaL by the 
colonifts at the Cape, from a fuppofed fimilarity in its ha¬ 
bits to thofe of a petty officer of judice in the colony who 
bears that name. This fhrike, when it fees a grafshopper 
w final! bird, darts upon it, and carries it off to impale it 
211 
upon a thorn ; and is fo adroit, that the point of the thorn 
generally comes out through the middle of the bird’s or 
infefVs head, and; thus conveniently fixed, he can feed 
upon it at leifure. If no thorny buffi is to be found, he 
jams the head of his prey between the forks of a final! 
branch ; and this he does as exadily as it could be done 
by the human hand. This is his condant pradfice with 
all the prey he catches. Every hour of the day is marked 
with blood; for this bird is continually on the hunt, and 
apparently more from cruelty than want, for he cannot 
poflibly devour all he catches in this manner. He is ge¬ 
nerally perched on the tops of trees, and on a withered 
branch in preference, whence he darts upon every thing 
that comes in his way. When prefix'd by hunger, he will 
vifit a gibbet, and feed upon fleffi. The Hottentots fay, 
that this bird prefers food in a putrid date, and therefore 
fixes his prey that he may find it after a certain time^: thus 
much is certain, lie feldom devours his prey immediately. 
Happily, however, with fuch fanguinary and mercilefs 
habits, this bird has not received from nature a great de¬ 
gree of drength ; had it been of the fize and drength of 
the eagle, it would have been the fcourge of the whole 
animal creation. This bird is not fhy, fo that he may be 
eafily watched ; his ufual mode is, as loon as he has caught 
any thing, to bear it quickly to a thorn or forked branch, 
and there to fix it; then away he goes in fearcli of more, 
leaving the haplefs animal dead, or writhing in mifery. 
This bird is bold, vindiftive, and very noify ; he fuffers 
no bird of prey within his domain; yet many avail them- 
felves of the prey he has fixed or impaled, as he cannot 
watch all at once. Violent battles often take place between 
the males of the fame fpecies, which fometimes terminate in 
the death of one of the combatants, efpecially if a female 
be the objedl in difpute. The notes of this bird are very 
various 5 fometimes it chatters for feveral hours together 
without ceafing, with fundry drange gedures, and flying 
from tree to tree, efpecially in the feafon of love. Its 
flight is low, always finking and riling, never in a draight 
line. The male and female are generally feen together ; 
the male is ratlierthe drongeft,and his coloursare brighted. 
The ned is placed in a forked branch of a tree; it is made 
with roots and mofs, lined with wool and feathers. The 
female lays five eggs, which (he and the male fit on by 
turns ; they are very careful of their young, and do not 
quit them till they become flrong. The fifeal, while young, 
has no white but on the edges of the fcapulars aaid on the 
belly ; the red of the plumage is a brownifh grey with 
tints or dreaks of a darker colour, but without an atom 
of black, fo that it appears abfolutely another fpecies. 
When full-grown, it is of the lize of the L. excubitor,. 
though fomewhat longer. The bill, feet, and nails, are 
blackilh; all the head, the back of the neck, and the man¬ 
tle, are of a dirty black; the fcapulars are white, the 
croup greyiih. The wing-quills are black for the mod; 
part ; there is white in fome of the middle ones, and the 
latter ones are edged with white. The four.middle quills 
of the tail are black; the others on each fide have more 
and more white upon them, fo that the lad on each fide 
is quite white on its outer part. The throat, front of the 
neck, bread, and all the under parts of the body, are of 
a delicate white, but incline to grey in the female. The 
eyes are dark brown. This fpecies is very common at the 
Cape; it is found in all the gardens of the town, on the 
trees in the dreets, and upon the houfes. Vaillant obferved 
it alfo in the interior, as far as the Namaquois, where it 
has not varied in the lead, either in its mode of life or in 
its colours. It keeps condantly in the fame canton, 
perched in the fame tree, and feems to have a predileftion 
for a particular*bough, where it fits finging its ffiarp dif- 
cordant notes. In flying it keeps nearly to the fame fpot, 
while watching the infeffs it has been obferved hiding 
under the grafs ; this is the cafe with mod birds of prey 
who hunt flying. 
ti. Lanius Indus, the Indian fhrike. This fpecies is 
called by Vaillant Ic paideur. It was in the cabinet of the 
Jala,- 
