The RED-HEADED SHRIKE (_Enneoctonus-Phoneus-rufus_), or WOOD CHAT, as
it is sometimes called, is seven inches long and eleven broad; the wing
measures three and a half and the tail three inches. In the male, the
upper portion of the body is black, the under surface yellowish white,
the back of the head and nape are reddish brown, and the shoulders and
rump white. The female resembles her mate. The plumage of the young is
brownish grey, marked with crescent-shaped black spots; the wings and
tail are brown; the eyes are dark brown; the beak blueish black, and the
feet deep grey.
The Red-headed Shrike is very numerously met with in Southern Europe,
where it not only frequents woodland districts, but settles in the
immediate vicinity of houses. As winter approaches it leaves for warmer
latitudes, and is very commonly seen in the forests of Central Africa,
shortly after the rainy season. In its mode of life this species
resembles the Butcher Bird, but it subsists principally upon insects, and
only destroys small quadrupeds or birds when compelled to do so through
lack of other food. The nest is placed upon a tree, and constructed
of dry stalks or green plants, the interior being lined with moss and
delicate fibres, feathers, hair, and wool. The five or six eggs that
constitute a brood are laid in May; these have a greenish white shell,
spotted with dark grey or brown. When caged, the Red-headed Shrike
soon becomes an attractive companion, owing to its great facility for
imitating the voice of almost any bird that it may hear.