Captain Hutton, who recognizes the distinctions between this species and L. caniceps, says:—"This is an abundant species in the Doon, but is found also within the mountains up to about 5000 feet. In the Doon I took a nest on the 28th June containing four eggs. It is composed of grass and fine stalks of small plants roughly put together, bits of rag, shreds of fine bark, and lined with very fine grass-seed stalks; internal diameter 3 inches, external 6 inches; depth 2½ inches."
Sir E.C. Buck notes having taken a nest containing four hard-set eggs on the 22nd of June, far in the interior of the Himalayas, at Niratu, north-east of Notgurh. The nest was in a tuhar tree and was composed externally of grass-seed ears, internally of finer grass; a very different-looking nest from any I have elsewhere seen, but he forwarded the bird and eggs, so that there could be no mistake.
From Murree, Colonel C.H.T. Marshall writes:—"Found numerous nests in the valleys in May and June, between 4000 and 5000 feet up."
From four to six eggs are laid, and in regard to this Shrike I have had no reason to think that it rears more than one brood in the year.
Major Wardlaw Ramsay say says, writing of Afghanistan:—"I found a great many nests in May and June. The first (27th May) was situated in the centre of a dense thorny creeper, and contained six eggs, white, faintly washed with pale green, and spotted and blotched with purplish stone-colour and pale brown. The nest was composed of green grass, moss, cotton-wool, thistle-down, rags, cows' hair, mules' hair, shreds of juniper-bark, &c., &c. Other nests were found in willows by the river-bank and in apricot-trees. In a large orchard at Shalofyan, in the Kurrum valley, I found three nests within a few yards of one another."
Major C.T. Bingham writes:—"I have only found one nest of this Shrike, which is, however, common enough both at Allahabad and at Delhi. This nest I found on the 3rd June in the Nicholson gardens at Delhi. It was placed high up in the fork of a babool tree, and though more straggling and loosely built was very like that of L. lahtora; the two eggs it contained, except that they are a trifle smaller, are very like those of L. lahtora"
Colonel Butler has furnished me with the following note:—The Rufous-backed Shrike commences nidification at Mt. Aboo about the end of May. I took a nest on the 11th June containing five fresh eggs. It was placed in the fork of one of the outer branches of a mango-tree about 15 feet, from the ground. The hen bird sat very close, allowing the native I sent up the tree to put his hand almost on to her back before she moved, and then she only flew to a bough close by, remaining there chattering and scolding angrily the whole time the nest was being robbed. The nest, which is coarse and somewhat large for the size of the bird, is composed externally of dry grass-roots, twigs, rags, raw cotton, string, and other miscellaneous articles all woven together. The interior is neatly lined with dry grass and horsehair. The eggs, five in number, are of a pale greenish-white colour, spotted all over with olivaceous inky-brown spots and specks, increasing in size and forming a zone at the large end. They vary much in shape, some being pyriform, and others blunt and similar in shape at both ends. I took another nest on the 19th June near the same place containing five fresh eggs, similar in every respect to the one already described, except that it was built on a thorn-tree about 10 feet from the ground. I took a nest at Deesa on the 8th July, 1875, containing four fresh eggs; these eggs are smaller and rounder than those from Aboo, and the blotches are larger and more distinct. The same pair of birds built another nest a few days later, on 18th July, within ten yards of the tree from which the other nest was taken, laying five eggs.
"I found other nests at Deesa on the following dates:—
"July 2nd. A nest containing 4 incubated eggs.
" 7th. " " 2 fresh eggs.
" 8th. " " 4 "
" 9th. " " 2 "
" 10th. " " 5 "
" 10th. " " 4 "
Aug. 9th. " " 3 "
"I found many other nests in the same neighbourhood containing young birds during the last week of July."