The grey-headed bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti), colloquially known as the ghostbird,[2] is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae.

It is the most widespread species of its genus, which consists of large bushshrikes with massive bills and mournful hooting calls.

M. b. approximans has a variable amount of chestnut on the breast and flanks, which is absent in M. b. catharoxanthus,[6] once treated as a separate species.

[2] Immatures are paler generally,[6] while juveniles have pale yellow chest plumage, and brown barring or mottling over the crown.

[8] In southern Africa it is absent from Kalahari woodlands, and is largely replaced by the orange-breasted bushshrike in the Okavango Delta.

The best-known call is the male's uncanny, mechanical-sounding series of hooting notes, which particularly during the pre-breeding period,[8] is frequently repeated.

[8] The pair builds a nest in 10 days,[12] which is placed in the mid to upper stratum of a tree, well-hidden in thicker foliage, tangles or mistletoes.

[12] A clutch contains 2 to 4 elongate (29 x 21 mm),[12] cream-coloured eggs, irregularly marked with grey and brown spots,[10] that form a slight crown around the obtuse end.