Long-tailed shrike

Lanius schach

Also calledLahtora (Hindi/Urdu) · Zōng bèi bóláo 棕背伯劳 (Chinese) · Rufous-backed shrike

A predatory songbird with a black bandit mask and a rufous back, which perches on bushes and wires to pounce on insects, lizards and small birds. Like other shrikes it impales surplus prey on thorns as a larder.

The long-tailed shrike or rufous-backed shrike is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes. They are found widely distributed across Asia and there are variations in plumage across the range. The species ranges across much of Asia, both on the mainland and the eastern archipelagos. The eastern or Himalayan subspecies, L. s. tricolor, is sometimes called the black-headed shrike. Although there are considerable differences in plumage among the subspecies, they all have a long and narrow black tail, have a black mask and forehead, rufous rump and flanks and a small white patch on the shoulder. It is considered to form a superspecies with the grey-backed shrike which breeds on the Tibetan Plateau. Wikipedia