Bull-headed Shrike

Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) is an East Asian shrike whose male has a brown crown, white eyebrow, black mask, grey-brown back and rufous flanks. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It watches open farmland, scrub and woodland edges from exposed perches before dropping onto insects and small vertebrates, sometimes storing prey on thorns; it also gives harsh calls and imitates other birds. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).