Pied Currawong

Taxobox
name = Pied Currawong
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = Pied Currawong
Swifts Creek, Victoria
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Artamidae
genus = "Strepera"
species = "S. graculina"
binomial = "Strepera graculina"
binomial_authority = Shaw, 1790
range_

range_map_width = 220px
range_map_caption = Pied Currawong rangeThe Pied Currawong, "Strepera graculina" is a common omnivorous songbird of eastern Australia. It is a large crow-like bird, black in plumage with white undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill. It is a predator which has adapted well to urbanization and can be found in parks and gardens as well as rural woodland.

Taxonomy

The Pied Currawong was first described by English ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as "Coracias strepera", although "Strepera" was adopted as a generic name. Its specific names were derived from the Latin "strepera" "noisy", and "graculina", resembling a Jackdaw,Higgins "et al.", p. 529] though Grackles of the genus "Gracula" are members of the Sturnidae.

Its closest relative is the Black Currawong ("S. fuliginosa") of Tasmania, which has sometimes been considered a subspecies.

Though crow-like in appearance and habits, it is only distantly related to true crows, instead it belongs to the family Artamidae, together with the closely related Australian Magpie and the butcherbirds. Like almost all of these birds, it has adapted very well to urbanization.

ubspecies

Six subspecies are currently recognised:

*"S. graculina graculina"
*"S. graculina ashbyi" - Western Victorian Pied Currawong
*"S. graculina crissalis" - "(Vulnerable)" - The Lord Howe Island Currawong appears to have adapted well to human habitation on Lord Howe Island, though the population is small overall, somewhere around 70 birds. [Garnett, S. (1993) "Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia". RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014]
*"S. graculina magnirostris"
*"S. graculina robinsoni"
*"S. graculina nebulosa"

Description

The Pied Currawong is generally a black bird with white in the wing, undertail covets, the base of the tail and (most visibly) the tip of the tail. It also has yellow eyes. Size is about 40 to 50 cm. Along with magpies and butcherbirds, it has one of the most hauntingly beautiful caroling calls of any Australian songbird, and is eclipsed, perhaps, only by the Grey Shrike-thrush and the lyrebirds.

Distribution and habitat

It is common in woodland, rural and semi-urban environments throughout eastern Australia, from Cape York to western Victoria and Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island, where it occurs as an endemic subspecies. It seems to have adapted well to European presence, and has become more common in some urban areas such as Sydney.Unlike many birds, Pied Currawongs have suffered little from European occupation of the land. Settlers and successive generations have replaced much of the natural woodland and forest with vast artificial grasslands, where Currawongs are seldom seen. Scattered patches of remaining bush appear to be sufficient for their needs and the provision of irrigated waypoints along their rambling migration routes has encouraged them to take up residence in areas where they previously only overflew.

The effect of this on smaller birds that are vulnerable to nest predation is controversial: several studies have suggested that Pied Currawongs have become a serious problem, but the truth of this widely held perception remains to be established. They appear to thrive on berries of some introduced species, some of which themselves are pests, such as the Camphor laurel "(Cinnamomum camphora)".

Behaviour

Pied Currawongs are generally tree dwelling, hunting and foraging some metres above the ground, and thus able to share territory with the ground-foraging Australian Magpie.

Diet

The Pied Currawong is omnivorous, eating fruit and berries as well as preying on many smaller birds and animals. They will often scavenge, eating scraps and rubbish and can be quite bold when seeking food from people.

Nesting

Pied Currawongs build nests of sticks high in trees in spring, laying three eggs.

Voice

The loud distinctive call has been translated as "Kadow-Kadang" or "Curra-wong". Birds also have a high-pitched but loud whistle. The endemic Lord Howe Island subspecies has a distinct, more melodious call.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

*cite book |title= Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 7: Boatbill to Starlings |author= Higgins, Peter Jeffrey, John M. Peter, and S. J. Cowling (eds.) |year= 2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= Melbourne |isbn= 978-0195539967

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=5854&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=51218 IUCN Red List]
* [http://www.fnpw.org.au/OurProjects/Plants_Wildlife/LHICurrawong.htm Lord Howe Island Currawong]
* [http://www.fnpw.org.au/enews054/LHICurrawong.htm Lord Howe Island Currawong recovery]