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 LC    Black-faced Woodswallow* Id (Atlas): 546
    Artamus cinereus

Description (10)
Image of Black-faced Woodswallow
 

Other Names (World)
Black-faced Woodswallow, Grey Woodswallow, Gray Woodswallow, Grey-breasted Woodswallow, Gray-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Woodswallow, White-vented Woodswallow

Family
Artamidae (Woodswallows And Butcherbirds)

Size
18 cm

First Described (Guide)
Vieillot, 1817

Derivation
Ar'-tam-us - Gk, artamos, butcher: cin-er'-e-us - L., ashen

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common. Nomadic.

Habitat
Mainly in dry open woodlands, especially those dominated by sparsely scattered eucalypts, often with a ground-cover of grass and sometimes a sparse shrub layer.

Range (Guide)
Australia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste (B) (NB).

Image of Range of Black-faced Woodswallow
Interior of Australia generally, extending to coastal regions in the west and north.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually singly, in pairs or small flocks.

Food
Invertebrates, mainly insects. Occasionally nectar, and, less often, seeds and fruit.

Voice
A scratchy 'chiff chiff' or 'chap chap'. Song includes mimicry.



Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (14)...)

 
Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus) [XC609256]
     by Christopher Watson from Sturt NP, Olive Downs area, New South Wales, Australia (song)

 
Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus) [XC334914]
     by Nigel Jackett from Tibooburra, New South Wales, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
At any time but mostly August - January, or after rain in arid regions.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
Open cup-shaped, composed of rootlets and small twigs, lined with finer materials, occasionally hors-hair, in a shrub or on a stump.

Eggs (Guide)
3 or 4; white with purple-brown blotches concentrated at the larger end; oval; about 22 x 17 mm. Incubation: 14 - 16 days; by both sexes.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 18 days.

Subspecies
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

  • cinereus Vieillot, 1817   -  South-western Australia.
  • perspicillatus Bonaparte, 1850   -  Timor, Leti and Sermata Is, in eastern Lesser Sundas.
  • melanops Gould, 1865   -  Northern, central and inland south-eastern Australia.
  • normani (Mathews, 1923)   -  South-central New Guinea and north-eastern Australia (central and southern Cape York Peninsula, and inland north-eastern Queensland).
  • dealbatus Schodde and Mason, 1999   -  East-central Queensland.
  • inkermani Keast, 1958   -  Eastern Queensland (Burdekin River to Burnett River).


Similar Species
Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) which is much darker and slightly smaller and has a prominent white leading edge to the upper wing, and Little Woodswallow (Artamus minor) which is much darker and much smaller and has a more diffuse and more extensive black face mask, and dirtier brownish-grey underwing and Masked Woodswallow (Artamus personatus) which is larger and slimmer, has a much narrower white tip to the tail and a larger, dark face mask.


References
See References.

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


Files:
JPG files for Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus) - 10 filesMP3 files for Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus) - 2 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Black-faced Woodswallow see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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