Ashy Woodswallow

Description:

Also known as Ashy swallow-shrike, this is a starling-sized (or slightly smaller) stocky bird, with ashy grey upperparts and pale pinkish-grey underparts. The head is darker, and there seems to be even a darker zone around eyes. The bill is silvery grey and curved. It has a long wings and short, square slaty-black tail tipped in white. They are often seen in groups, cuddling (like bee-eaters), the behaviour I saw, but was unable to photograph...

Habitat:

Even though they are commonly observed in groups, I saw only one bird, on the beach at the bottom of hills of Himchari National Park, near Cox's Bazar. The bird was briefly perched in a tree, in treeline bordering the intertidal zone and the backyard of the resort we were staying in. The beach in question is the part of That beach (longest sand beach of the world - 120 Km). Otherwise, the family of woodswallows have Australasian distribution; while the ashy woodswallow is an exclusively south-Asian bird.

Notes:

It was a real pleasure to discover and learn about this family and this genus of birds - this was the very first time I even heard of them. And yes, sorry about the low quality of shots - I had to shoot fast, with the biggest zoom my camera allows and I was not in the best position in relation to light...