m ■ lan 
late abb'e Aubry. Its country aim habits are unknown, 
except from the following ticket affixed to it when fold : 
“The Indian thfike. It lives on infefts and fmall birds, 
which it plucks or ikins before eating them ; when it has 
eaten enough, it Hicks the remainder on a thorn till want¬ 
ed.” From this fhort notice, it is plain that this bird be¬ 
longs to the fame divilion as the fifcal, which is found at 
the Cape. It is about the fize of the rutilous ffiride. Two 
white (tripes originate at the corner of the mouth, one of 
them going over the eye, the other under it; and they 
unite below on the neck, inclofing a piece of black in 
fliape like an ace of clubs cut longitudinally down the 
middle. The throat and front of the neck are black, 
which extends along the bread, and tapers off towards 
the middle of the (ternuin. The upper part of the head, 
back of the neck, fcapulars, and the back in general, 
are of a bluiffi grey, which grows lighter towards the 
croup and the upper tail-coverts. The wing-quills are 
black; thefird of them are edged with light-grey on their 
outer barbs, and the fix lad only are white at the ends. 
The four middle feathers of the tail dre quite black, and 
of equal length ; the red, four on each fide, go off taper¬ 
ing, partly white in their outer extremities, and blackidi 
within or underneath, in fuch a manner as that the white 
occupies more fpace in proportion as the feathers become 
Shorter; fo that, when thefe feathers are clofed, the tail ap¬ 
pears entirely black above, and white underneath, except 
where the four middle quills run beyond the red. The 
tail, whon fpread out in the aft of dying, 'is draped like 
the top of a fpear rounded at the extremity. All the un¬ 
der part is entirely white; the beak, feet, and nails, fhin- 
irig black. Vaiilant fuppofes this to have been the male 
bird. 
12. Lanius Lucionenfis, the Luzonian ffirike : tail 
wedged ; a,black fpot near each ear ; tail feathers reddilh, 
barred with brown at the tips. Bill and body above grey- 
brown, beneath and on the fides reddilh with white lines. 
13. Lanius excubitor, the great butcher-bird: tail 
wedged, white at the fides ; back hoary ; wings black, 
with a white fpot. This bird inhabits the woods and 
mountains in fummer, and reforts to the plains and near 
.dwellings in winter. It breeds among the hills, either 
on the ground or on the loftied trees. Its ned is corn- 
pofed of white mofs, interwoven with long grafs, and 
well lined with wool, and is commonly fattened to the 
triple cleft of a branch. The female, which differs not 
from the male in point of fize, and is only didinguidied 
by the lighter cad of its plumage, lays generally five or 
fix eggs, fometimes feven, or even eight, as large as thofe 
of a thrudi. Length ten inches; breadth acrofs the wings 
fourteen inches; weighs three ounces. It feizes fmall 
birds by the throat, and drangles them ; then fpits them 
on fome thorn, and tears them to pieces with its bill. 
Even when confined in a cage, it dicks its meat againd 
the wires, and tears it in the fame manner. It is frequent 
in Ruffia, but feems not to have penetrated to Siberia. It 
inhabits the whole extent of North America. In Hud- 
fon’s Bay it breeds in the woods didant from the coad. 
It makes its nett with grafs, which it lines thick with 
feathers. 
In this fpecies there is a variety in the fize, and ano¬ 
ther in the colour. Some are found entirely white on the 
Alps, which, as well as thofe with a rufous tinge on the 
belly, are of the fame fize with the great cinereous fhrike, 
and it does not exceed the red-wing.—The 'fil'd of thefe 
5 s the Lanius albus of Aldrovandus, and the variety $ of 
Linnaeus : body white; feet yellowilh; bill and nails 
blackidi.—The fecond is the Lanius major of Gefner, and 
the Groeferer neuntoeder of Frifch; it is the variety y of 
Linnaeus. It is larger and thicker than the former; the 
fcapular feathers, and the fmall coverts of the upper fide 
of the wing, are rud-coloured ; but thefe differences are 
too minute to conftitute a feparate fpecies. 
14. Lanius major, the greater flrrike, This is a new 
fpecies, about the fize of a thrufl), confequently larger 
i u s. 
than any of the European "fiifikes. The top of the head 
and back of the neck are fiate-colour, lighter in front, but 
inclining to olive on the back, which, as well as the man¬ 
tle, rump, and tail, are of an olive-green (haded with 
yellow ; the (mailer wing-coverts are of the fame colour, 
but modly tipped with brimdone-yellow, as are the tail- 
feathers alfo. The wing-feathers are blackidi, but edged 
with yellow. The whole of the under part, from the 
throat to the under tail-coverts, are of an ochre yellow; 
bill and feet lead-colour. This fpecies was tranfmitted t9 
Mr. Ray of Amderdam, from Senegal, by M. Blanchotr, 
governor of that colony, from whom Vaiilant named it. 
15. Lanius maximus, the greated butcher-bird This 
fpecies is larger than any defcribed by Briffori, Budbn, or 
Linnaeus. The body, feet, and tail, greatly refemble the 
magpies, efpecially that called Corvus piapiac ; while the 
double notch, in the upper mandible places it decidedly 
among the (hrikes. This fpecies is about the fize of our 
blackbird, but longer, for the tail is as long as the whole 
body from the bill to the anus: it is delineated on Plate 
I. of the natural fize. The tail is tapering, and fpear- 
(liaped. Its colours have nothing remarkable ; an a(h- 
grey prevails over the whole plumage, except a reddifli 
line on each fide of the head forming a kind of eye-brow. 
Some red there is alfo on the outer barbs of the large 
quills of the wings, and on the tips of fome of thole of 
the tail. The beak is lemon-colour; the feet brownidi, 
and the nails black. Its native place is not known, as 
Vaiilant purchafed the lpecimen of a dealer. 
16. Lanius collurio, the common butcher-bird : tail 
fomewhat wedge (haped, back grey, (our middle quills of 
the tail of an uniform colour, bill lead-coloured. Length 
feven inches and a half; alar extent eleven inches; the 
male weighs two ounces, the female two ounces and two 
grains. The head and back of the neck are of a fine 
(late-colour; acrofs the eyes from the bill runs a broad 
black ltroke ; the upper part of the back, and coverts of 
the wings, are of a bright ferruginous colour; the bread, 
belly, and (ides, blolfom colour : the two middle feathers 
of the tail are longed, and entirely black ; the lower part 
of the others white, and the exterior webs of the outmod 
feather on each fide wholly fo. See Plate II. fig. 1. In 
the female, the droke acrols the eyes is of a reddilh brown: 
the head of a dull rult-colour mixed with grey; the 
bread, belly, and fides, are of a dirty white, marked with 
femicircular dufky lilies: the tail is of a deep brown; the 
outward feather on each fide excepted, whofe exterior 
webs are white. It is rather larger than the male. This 
fpecies is found generally throughout Europe; and in Af¬ 
rica very commonly in all the louthern part, except for 
about thirty leagues diltance from Cape Town. The fe¬ 
male has not the head and neck marked with light grey 
like the male, but of the fame reddilh brown as the man¬ 
tle; nor has her bread and fides fo drong a tint of that 
beautiful rofe-colour which ornaments the male. But, 
when very young, they are exaftly alike. They build on 
trees in the fork of a branch near the body of the tree: 
they lay from four to lix eggs, often only three. They 
appear not to be migratory ; for Vaiilant obferved them, 
both in France and in Africa, at all feafons. It is true, 
that in fpring and fummer they come into the plains, and 
perch upon lingle trees ; and at the approach of winter 
get to the borders of woods, efpecially if any fpring or 
rivulet'be at hand ; but in Africa, as the climate is much 
hotter, they continue the fame haunts all the year round. 
Their principal food, as in Europe, is infefts, efpecially 
caterpillars ; only feizing oscafionally upon young birds 
that can make no refidance. 
fl. L. collurio varius, the variegated (hrike : this va¬ 
riety has the body grey, beneath reddifli with brown 
dreaks ; fcapulars half white and half black, three outer 
quill-feathers white at the bafe and tips, the outermoft 
reddilh-white above. 
y. L. collurio rufus, the woodchat, or rutilous (hrike: 
body above variegated wish reddifli-white and black, be- 
jieath 
