Tiger Shrike

The tiger shrike is a compact, thick-billed shrike 17–18.5 cm long. Adult males have a slate-grey crown and mantle, broad black mask, white underparts and a reddish-brown back crossed by dark bars that create the tiger-like pattern. Females are duller and show scaling below; juveniles are heavily scaled overall. All ages retain a plain rufous tail. Its short, sturdy proportions contrast with the slimmer, longer-tailed Burmese shrike (Birds of Singapore; Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in eastern Russia, China, Korea and Japan and migrates to Southeast Asia, where it frequents well-wooded areas, secondary growth and forest edge. From a concealed perch it hunts grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, bugs, moths and other arthropods, also taking small birds and lizards. Both sexes build a cup nest in a tree or shrub. The female incubates three to six eggs, most often five, for 14–16 days before the chicks hatch (Wikipedia, general species account).