days before on St. Mary’s, one of the isles of Scilly. The
occurrence of this bird he noticed in the £ Zoologist ’ for the
same year (p. 3300) under the name of Lanius excubitor;
though, as he has kindly informed the Editor, he soon after
remarked the differences between this example and an
adult male of the Great Grey Shrike, in his already rich
collection. In the same periodical for 1867 (p. 556) Mr.
J . H. Jenkinson gave a description of this and other specimens
of grey Shrikes, announcing that it was pretty certain
it could not be L . excubitor, but not referring it to any
known species. Subsequently the same gentleman (tom. cit.
p. 606) suggested that it might belong to the American L.
ludovicianus of Linnaeus, and soon afterwards its owner,
Mr. Eodd, sent the specimen to Mr. Gould, by whom it was
identified as the European L. minor, and figured in his
‘ Birds of Great Britain.’ Since that time Mr. Murray A.
Mathew has received, from Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, a
specimen obtained in a garden there in the spring of 1869
(Zool. s.s. p. 2060), the genuineness of which has been
corroborated (tom. cit. p. 2139) by Mr. Stevenson ; and
thus, two individuals of this species having unquestionably
occurred in England, its introduction in the present work
may be fully expected.
On the continent of Europe the Lesser Grey Shrike is a
summer immigrant, arriving early in spring and departing
late in autumn. I t is of rare occurrence in Holland, and
has been obtained only once in Denmark. In the south of
Sweden it has been observed two or three times, and a single
example has been met with in F in lan d ; but south of the
Baltic it is not uncommonly found, breeding throughout
northern Germany from Pomerania to Luxemburg. I t also
visits Eussia and probably extends its range into Siberia,
for Menetries obtained it in Caucasia. De Filippi observed it
in Persia and Canon Tristram in Palestine, where, however, it
seems to be rare, though Dr. Kriiper found it breeding in
Asia Minor. Turning westward, it occurs in all the countries
of central and southern Europe, as far as Spain, but appears
not to be common in that kingdom, nor to have been hitherto
observed in Portugal. In Africa it ranges from north-east
to south-west, frequenting, as Dr. von Heuglin states, if not
residing on, the shores of the Eed Sea, while, according to
Messrs. Dresser and Sharpe, many specimens were sent by
Andersson from Damaraland.
In habits this species is said to resemble the Great Grey
Shrike, but it preys less on mammals and birds, feeding
chiefly on insects and at times on fruit, such as cherries, figs
and mulberries. In Provence, where it is common, it frequents
the marshy plains bordering the sea or intersected by
water-courses. In North Germany a pair or two are said to
haunt the orchards of most of the villages, though it is
also found on the verge of the forests. Its flight, according
to Vieillot, is straight and sustained. I t rests often on the
ground, either on a stone or a hillock, and when disturbed
thence betakes itself to the woods. I t builds a large and
thick nest, in which green clover-stems are, according to
several observers, always to be found, mixed with a few dry
sticks, wool and field-flowers—mostly, it is said, those
having an aromatic odour, and lined with feathers. The
eggs are from five to seven in number, white, tinged with
apple-green occasionally inclining to olive, and marked with
large blotches, usually ill-defined but sometimes bold, of
olive and asli-colour. In a few instances the eggs have been
known to have the reddish tints so frequently found in those
of the Eed-backed Shrike. They measure from 1-05 to -93
by from -73 to -68 in., and are usually laid at the end of
May or beginning of June. This Shrike bears no other bird
in its neighbourhood, and Crows especially it is said to
chase away from its nest with angry cries.
In the adult male, as represented by the lower figure
of the woodcut, the bill, which is very stout in proportion
to the size of the bird, is dark liorn-colour, almost
black; across the forehead a broad black band passes backward
both above and below the eyes, and forms a patch
extending behind the ears. All the plumage of the body
above, from the head to the rump, is of an ashy-grey, somewhat
lighter at either extremity. Wing-coverts brownish