Habitat
Mainly woodlands and shrublands on and surrounding rocky outcrops, hills, ranges and breakaways, often where rockholes and waterholes are present.
Little Woodswallow (Artamus minor) [XC233762]
by nick talbot from The Pilliga, New South Wales, Australia (song)
Little Woodswallow (Artamus minor) [XC107835]
by Marc Anderson from The Loop, Kalbarri National Park, Kalbarri, Australia (call)
Nest
Open, cup-shaped, composed of small twigs and plant stems and lined with rootlets, placed in the end of a hollow limb, in a cavity in a trunk of a tree or in clefts of cliffs.
Eggs (Guide)
3; cream with grey and brown blotches and spots at the larger end; oval; about 20 x 14 mm. Incubation: about 16 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 16 - 20 days. Possibly fed by both parents.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
minor Vieillot, 1817 - Western Australia (Pilbara and Murchison regions) east to ranges of southern northern Territory and north-western South Australia.
derbyi Mathews, 1912 - Northern and eastern Australia (south, in east, to northern New South Wales and eastern South Australia).
Similar Species
Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) which is somewhat lighter and larger and has a prominent white leading edge to the upper wing.
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
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet