Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach

The Long-tailed Shrike from the front looks similar to the Lesser Grey Shrike, with black forehead, but has a visibly far longer tail and the black bandit mask seems to extend a little further back beyond the eye. Also called the Rufous-backed Shrike, from behind it has a rufous brown back and rump and long dark tail.

There are several subspecies over its southern/south-eastern Asian range with variations in plumage; one, L.s. tricolor of Himalayas/India, has a full black head and rufous sides and back and is sometimes considered a separate species. The subspecies pictured is the Western Long-tailed Shrike, L. s. erythronotus, from Kazakhstan.

The chick hasn't yet grown its long tail.

All photos are in Kazakhstan by Alexandra Makhnina.