Voice
Loud, raucous, often rather metallic and clanking, 'karrowk-kak-kuk, karrowk-kak-kuk, karrowk-kak-kuk'. Extremely varies and priminent in the dawn chorus. Other calls include a clear, ringing, musical, 'cherrowik, cherrowik' and sharp 'aik, aik, aik, aik'.
Silver-crowned Friarbird (Philemon argenticeps) [XC706669]
by James Lambert from Knuckey Lagoon, Litchfield Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (call)
Silver-crowned Friarbird (Philemon argenticeps) [XC820522]
by James Lambert from Lake Argyle, Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia (call, footsteps on gravel)
Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of bark and grasses, woven together with cobweb and neatly lined with dry grasses, usually suspended from a drooping branch, often overhanging water, up to 15 m or more above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
1 or 2, rarely 3; fine, matt, pale pink to white, sparingly and vaguely spotted with pale sepia, purple-brown and slate, often more at the larger end; tapered-oval; about 30 x 21 mm. Incubation: probably 12 - 16 days; by female.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
argenticeps (Gould, 1840) - North-western Australia from Kimberley Divide, WA to south-eastern head of Gulf of Carpentaria and northern Selwyn Ranges, north-western Qld, south to eucalypt - acacia transition zone.
kempi Mathews, 1912 - Cape York Peninisula.
Similar Species
Noisy Friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) which has a bear crown, nape upper hindneck and upper foreneck, has a rounded bill casque, is generally much paler and has a white-tipped tail and Helmeted Friarbird (Philemon buceroides) which has more bare skin on the face and a sloped-back bill casque.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet