633 
THE GREAT GRAY SHRIKE. 
blood-thirsty family, and this one, the largest of them, is 
at the same time the most remarkable. 
The Great Gray Shrike cannot easily be mistaken for 
any other bird. Its back is bluish ash-gray, and the 
under parts are white; the outer feathers of the black 
and round tail are white, while the others are fringed 
with the same colour; the pinions are black, with a white 
band, and are also bordered with white; a black line 
traverses the eye, reaching to the occiput; the beak is 
black, and the legs and feet gray. The bird measures ten 
inches in length, and fifteen across the wings. This 
description will be sufficient, if the reader also bears in 
mind the distinctive peculiarities of the genus, namely, 
the powerful, hooked beak, and the strong Crow-like 
feet. 
The numerous names by which this Shrike is called 
show that it is known everywhere, and are highly 
descriptive of the bird, for it is, as well, worthy of the 
following soubriquets :—“ Strangler/’ “ Strangle-bird,” 
“ Throttle-angel,” “ Nine-killer” or “ Nine-murderer,” 
as “Watchman,” “War-, Mountain-, Bush-, and Thorn- 
Magpie,” “ Thorn-twister,” “ Bush-Hawk,” “ Tree- 
watchman,” “Wood-master,” &c., because it is really 
possessed of all the qualifications expressed by these 
names.* In suitable localities one is sure to meet with 
this bird during both summer and winter, for it is not a 
true migrant, only shifting its quarters slightly here and 
there after the breeding season is over. Its habit of 
perching on some prominent point in its beat renders it 
easily distinguishable, though it does not care much to 
admit of a near approach. The Gray Shrike is shy and 
* The English names are equally indicative of the bird’s nature: “Butcher- 
bird,” “ Mountain Magpie.”— W. J. 
