informs me that in the neighbourhood of Darmstadt it
is a regular but not very abundant summer visitor, that
it breeds very late, generally placing its nest of twigs
and dry roots lined with wool, hair, and feathers either
in fruit-trees or in the poplars so common along the
roadsides in Germany, at a height of from 20 to 25 feet
from the ground. The eggs, generally five or six in
number, are of a greenish white, spotted and blotched
with brown and grey; in habits this bird resembles the
other European Shrikes, its food consisting principally
of insects. I have kept one or two of these birds in
captivity, but cannot recommend them as cage-birds, as
I found them wild, sulky, and very fastidious feeders.
