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.
Long-tailed shrike
Upright posture (ssp. erythronotus (Keoladeo National Park, India)
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera.
Shrike
Shrike on a Winter Tree, silk painting by Li Di (李迪). China, Song dynasty, 1187 AD
A bee presumably caught and impaled by a shrike
Image: Southern White crowned Shrike, Eurocephalus anguitimens, gleaning ants from the early morning soil at Marakele National Park, South Africa (13952312157)