body white, rather duller and greyer on the sides of the breast;
under wing-coverts and axillaries white with dusky bases, the
greater series dusky brown, forming a patch; quills brown below,
white at the base of the inner web ; “ bill, brown horn-colour, livid
at base; feet, blackish brown; iris, dark brown” (Andersson).
Total length, 8 inches ; culmen, 0-75 ; wing, 3-65 ; tail, 4'1 ;
tarsus, 1'05.
Adult female.—Similar to the male, but distinguished by the
chestnut streaks on the flanks. Total length, 8'3 inches; wing, 3-65;
tail, 4*1 ; tarsus, T05.
Fig. Smith, HI. Zool. S. Afr. Aves, pi. lxviii.
361. E nneoctonus collurio , L. Red-backed Shrike.
Le Vaillant states that this well-known European species inhabits
the country about the Sunday and Zwartkop Rivers (Port Elizabeth),
Little and Great Namaqua Land and other places, but is not
found near Cape Town. We ourselves met with it about Graham'’s
Town, the Blinkwater, Alice, Eland’s Post, and the Katberg, but we
believe that it does not come further eastward than Port Elizabeth;
young birds were common in the months of March and April.
Lieut. Trevelyan has shot it near Kingwilliamstown, and we have
received specimens from Mr. J. J. O’Reilly at Graaff-Reinet,
and Mr. Ortlepp has found it breeding with him at Colesberg,
while Mr. T. C. Atmore obtained it near Beaufort. Captain Shelley
says that he shot it on several occasions at Durban in Natal,
and Mr. T. E. Buckley procured the species on the Limpopo.
Mr. Barratt shot a specimen in the Potchefstroom district, but
Mr. T. Ayres found it scarce at the Goldfields, where it was solitary
in its habits, sitting stationary on the top of some low bush. The
latter gentleman has also procured it near Potchefstroom in December.
Dr. Kirk obtained a specimen at Shupanga, and Mr. Oates
shot the bird at different places during his journey to the Zambesi
from November to March. Mr. Andersson writes in December:—
“ This Shrike is pretty common in Great Namaqua and Damara Land,
as also in the Okavango region, where it breeds. It is migratory,
and returns to Damara Land at the approach of the rainy season. It
watches from some elevated position for its prey, which usually
consists of insects. Senor Anchieta has sent it from Humbe, on tbe
River Cunene, where its native name is stated to be “ Kissandasuala,”
as well as from Biballa in Mossamedes, where it is called
“ Kitiapi;” he has also met with it at Caconda in Benguela. He
States that it is common all over the country visited by him.
Adult male.—Head and neck grey; a narrow frontal band, lores,
feathers round the eye and ear-coverts, black, separated from the
grey crown by an indistinct line of whitish across the forehead and
over the eye; mantle and back rufous, duller on the lower back,
the rump and upper tail-coverts dull grey; scapulars rufous, like
the back; wing-coverts blackish, broadly bordered with rufous;
primary-coverts blackish, with indistinct narrow margins of rufous ;
quills brown, narrowly edged with pale rufous, the innermost
secondaries almost entirely of the latter colour; primaries white at
the base, forming an indistinct alar speculum ; four centre tail-
feathers blackish narrowly tipped with white, the four outer
feathers on each side white with black shafts, and having a broad
subterminal band of black, the tips of all the feathers conspicuously
white; cheeks and sides of face and throat whitish with a pink
gloss; rest of under surface of body light pink, much deeper on
the sides of the body; vent and under tail-coverts white; thighs
greyish; under wing-coverts and axillaries white with ashy-grey
bases, the outermost of the greater series ashy-grey, forming an
indistinct patch; quills dusky brown below, edged with very pale
rufous along the inner web ; bill black; feet black; iris hazel
brown. Total length, 6'5 inches; culmen, 0'6; wing, 3'65; tail, 3'0;
tarsus, 0'9.
Adult female.—General colour above reddish brown, slightly
ashy on the hind neck, and more decidedly rufous on the scapulars ;
wing-coverts, dark brown with very broad rufous edgings; quills,
dark brown, narrowly edged with pale rufous, more broadly on the
secondaries; no alar speculum ; lower back and rump dull ashy
brown, the upper tail-coverts rufous, mottled with a subterminal
line of black and obscurely tipped with fulvous; tail-feathers brown,
slightly marked with rufous, all of them narrowly tipped with
fulvous, before which are generally some obscure dusky lines, the
outermost feather dull white for the extent of the outer web; a
frontal line, lores, and a broad eyebrow, buffy white, slightly
mottled with dusky tips to the feathers ; round the eye a ring of
dull buff plumes ; ear-coverts rufous; cheeks and under surface of
body, dull white, mottled with circular lines of dull brown on the