Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius carolinensis, Wils. Amer. Ornith. vol. iii. p. 57. Pl. 22. fig. 8.
Adult Male. Plate LVII. Fig. 1.
Bill of moderate length, straightish, robust, acute, compressed; upper mandible with the dorsal outline a little arched, the tip declinate, the edges acute and overlapping, with a sharp process near the tip; lower mandible with the dorsal line a little convex, the tip acute and ascending. Nostrils basal, lateral, half closed by an arched membrane. Head large. Neck and body robust. Feet of ordinary length; tarsus scutellate before, acute behind; toes free, the lateral ones nearly equal; claws arched, compressed, acute.
Plumage soft, blended. Long bristly feathers at the base of the bill. Wings of ordinary length, curved, the second quill longest, the first and fifth equal. Tail long, graduated, of twelve rounded feathers.
Bill black. Iris dark brown. Feet greyish-black. The general colour of the upper parts is dark grey, of the under greyish-white, the sides tinged with brown. Forehead and sides of the head included in a broad black band. Wings and tail black. Base of the primaries, and tips of the secondaries and six inner primaries, white. Tail-feathers, excepting the four middle ones, white towards the end, the outer ones nearly all of that colour.
Length 8½ inches, extent of wings 13; bill along the ridge 7⁄12, along the gap nearly 1; tarsus 1, middle toe 11⁄12.
Adult Female. Plate LVII. Fig. 2.
The female differs from the male only in being a little smaller and somewhat darker and duller in the plumage.