Rufous tailed shrike juvenile, DNP

This migratory medium-sized passerine eats large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. Like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes. The red-tailed shrike or Turkestan shrike,is a member of the shrike family. It was formerly considered conspecific with the isabelline shrike and the red-backed shrike. Until recently, usually treated as conspecific with Isabelline wheatear, but differs in its tawny-rufous vs pale greyish crown; darker sandy-grey upperparts and tail; bold vs indistinct white supercilium and strong white vs buffy underparts. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.