Rare avian visitor to Yorkshire butchered the local bees
From the August 1885 edition of The Naturalist magazine: Occurrence of great grey shrike near Leeds, June 27, 1885.
It gives me pleasure to record the occurrence in this neighbourhood of the great grey shrike, especially as it is so rare during summer.
The bird, when first seen, was perched on the topmost branch of a hawthorn bush on the confines of a moor at Adel, near Leeds.
I approached it cautiously, wishing to get a good view, and be able to pronounce as to its identity without doubt.
To my delight the bird proved not to be so shy as I had anticipated, but allowed me to get quite close before taking flight.
Even then, it only removed a few yards away and alighted on another hawthorn.
In this way, I pursued it from bush and tree for some distance when it flew across the fields out of my way.
While continuing this chase, I had an excellent opportunity of noticing the ashy-grey back and white patches of the wings and tail which characterise this species.
The bird appears, when on the wing, to be about the size of a song thrush, and, in plumage not unlike the pied wagtail.
After the pursuit, I retraced my steps to the starting point, and, on examining the bush I found that it had commenced its butchering process, for, impaled on the thorns, were three bees, all still alive.
I noticed that the bird has no particular method of impaling them.
One was pierced through the thorax and another through the abdomen.
I examined the bushes and whins to see if by any chance it was nesting here, but found no clue.
I give this in detail as I do not know whether the species has often been observed in Yorkshire during the breeding season or not.
Thomas Raine
Leeds
July l0, 1885.
Editor's note: As the species has not hitherto been recorded as occurring in Britain during the breeding season, Mr. Raine's circumstantial account is of very great interest.
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