Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/129

 Representatives of the Family are scattered all over the world.

The true Shrikes,—which are common to the three continents of the eastern hemisphere, and to North America, but are wanting in the southern division of that continent, as well as in Australia,—are distinguished by the following characters. The beak is rather short, and compressed at the sides, and not depressed as in the Flycatchers; the upper mandible hooked, and furnished with a strong and prominent tooth: the wings have the first three quills graduated, the third and fourth being the longest: the claws sharp, and moderately hooked: the tail usually lengthened, They are birds of much elegance of form, and the hues of the plumage are chaste and pleasing, consisting of various shades of blue-grey, rufous, and white, set off with fine contrasts of black on the head, wings, and tail.

Three species of this genus are known in England, but all as migratory visitors; of these we select as an example, the Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor, .), the largest, though not the most common. It is about as large as the Blackbird, but of superior elegance, from the graduated form of its long tail, as well as from the beautiful distribution of its pleasing colours. The whole upper parts are of a clear and pearly grey; the under parts pure white; the wings and tail black, tipped with white; on the former there is also a large patch of white at the base of the