A widespread African shrike that searches for prey from exposed perches in open country.
It has bold black-and-white plumage and a heavy hooked bill. The white shoulder patch joins a white wing bar; females show rufous flanks.
It uses open savanna, grassland, woodland edges, gardens, and roadsides, and launches from a perch to catch insects and small vertebrates.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.