From Opus

Photo by Tom Tarrant
Location: Newhaven, Northern Territory, Australia

Artamus cinereus

[edit] Identification

18cm

• Grey-brown above
• Black face around base of bill and eyes
• Light grey underparts
• Black undertail in the race cinereus

• White undertail in the race albiventris of north-eastern Queensland

• Black tail feathers tipped white
• Bluish bill tipped black.

Young birds are mainly brown, with extensive streaking, buff-brown underparts, pale brown bill.

[edit] Distribution

Australia, New Guinea, Sunda Islands, including Timor.

[edit] Taxonomy

Photo by The Magpie
Juvenile, Western Australia

There are 9 subspecies.

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

• A. c. normani:

• Northern Queensland (south-eastern Cape York Peninsula)

• A. c. dealbatus:

• Eastern Queensland (Burdekin River to Burnett River)

• A. c. melanops:

• Interior of central Western Australia to central Queensland and northern Victoria

• A. c. cinereus:

• South-western Western Australia

• A. c. perspicillatus:

• Eastern Lesser Sundas

[edit] Habitat

Open country, open woodlands, around lakes and wetlands.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects.

[edit] Breeding

They nest and rear their young co-operatively; the nest is made from twigs placed low in a small tree, stump or artificial structure.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.

• List of references

[edit] External Links