by William Swainson

“ The true Shrikes, of which two, if not three species inhabit England, are bold and cruel birds: they attack others, scarcely smaller than themselves, and seize them like a Falcon, by their talons during flight. ”

“ The Bush Shrikes on the other hand, are a more ignoble race; they only prowl after young or sickly birds, and seek their principal nourishment from those insects which shelter in foliage. These birds form two distinct groups, confined to the tropical latitudes of the Old and the New World. The first, Thamnophilus, is restricted to America, and the species are known by their dark coloured plumage. Malaconotus, is, we believe, purely an African group, while most of the typical species, like the present, are cloathed in bright and beautiful colours. ”