uttercr ; and while listening, to my surprise, the original notes
were discarded, and others adopted of a softer and more
melodious character, never, however, prolonged to anythino-
like a continuous song. Its grave ash-coloured garb, with its
peculiar black patch on the cheek, soon convinced me that my
unknown friend was the Butcher Bird.” This bird is used
by falconers abroad during autumn and winter when trapping
Falcons. The Shrike is fastened to the ground, and, by
screaming loudly, gives notice to the Falconer, who is concealed,
of the approach of a Hawk. It was on this account,
therefore, called excubitor, — the sentinel. I t frequents
groves and forests, and builds on trees at some distance from
the ground, making a nest of bents, roots, and moss, lined
with down and wool. The eggs are from four to six in number,
of a bluish or greyish white colour, spotted over the large
end with two shades of light brown and ash. The length of
the egg one inch one line, by nine lines and a half in breadth.
The Grey Shrike has been obtained in several southern and
western counties,—in Surrey, Sussex, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire,
Devonshire, Worcestershire, and Cheshire; and I am informed
by Mr. Thompson of Belfast, that it has occurred in
one or two instances in the North of Ireland. A specimen
shot near Belfast is in the collection of Dr. J. D. Marshall
North of London, it has been killed in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire,
Norfolk, Yorkshire, Cumberland, Northumberland,
and Durham. No Shrikes appear to have been seen either
in the islands of Orkney or Shetland; but the Grey Shrike
is included among the birds of Denmark, Norway, Sweden,
Lapland, Russia, and Germany. In Holland it is rare ; but
it is rather a common bird in France, and remains there
throughout the year, frequenting woods in summer, and open
plains in winter. It is an inhabitant also of Spain, Provence,
and Italy. In the southern part of the latter country,
according to the Prince of Musignano, it is a winter resident.
In the old male, the upper mandible is black, with a
projecting tooth near the point of the beak, which is considerably
curved; under mandible yellowish brown at the
base, becoming brownish black at the end ; the nostrils hid
by black hairs: the lore, or space between the base of the
beak and the eye, black ; the same colour passing by a narrower
band under the eye, and then expanding, forms a
black oval patch which covers the orifice of the ears: the
irides very dark brown ; the head, neck, back, wing and tail-
coverts, pearl grey; the scapulars tipped with white ; wing-
primaries and secondaries black, with a white bar near the
base of each feather, which, when the wing is closed, form
two white spots ; the secondaries are also tipped with white :
the upper surface of the four central feathers of the tail
black, the next feather on each side tipped with white, the
next one-fourth white, the next one-third white, the next
or outer tail-feather almost wholly white ; the tail graduated.
The chin, throat, sides of the neck, the breast, belly, flanks,
thighs, and under tail-coverts, pure white; under wing-
coverts white ; under surface of wing-primaries dusky grey,
inclining to slate grey ; under surface of tail-feathers less pure
in colour than the upper surface, but equally defined in the
markings ; the legs, toes, and claws, black.
Females resemble the males, except that the colours of
the plumage are not so pure, and the dull white of the breast
is marked with numerous greyish semilunar lines.
Young males resemble the females.
The whole length of the Grey Shrike is ten inches. Length
of wing from the wrist-joint, or carpus, to the end of the
longest primary, four inches and three-quarters; first wing-
feather only half as long as the second; the second shorter
than the third, fourth, or fifth, which are nearly equal, and
the longest in the wing; the sixth but very little longer than
the second.