Grey-backed Shrike

The grey-backed shrike is a long-tailed shrike, 21–25 cm long and weighing 39–54 g. Juveniles are browner above than adults, with a less marked brown facial mask, a horn-coloured lower mandible and finely barred crown and upperparts. It breeds at high elevations, to at least 4,500 m in Nepal, becoming common from about 2,700 m upwards, and nests mostly in bushes 0.7–3 m above the ground (Wikipedia, general species account).

Migrants arrive back on the breeding territories by early May. The call is rough and breathing-like, and the subdued breeding song mimics other birds for several minutes. On the non-breeding grounds in valleys and plains it is found in a variety of habitats, including gardens and abandoned cultivation (Wikipedia, general species account).