From Opus

Male
Photo by Neil
Sydney, Australia, Sep 2004

Alternative names: Australian Magpie-lark; Little Magpie; Murray Magpie; Mudlark; Pied Grallina

Grallina cyanoleuca

[edit] Identification

25 - 30cm. A common to abundant passerine of Australia:

[edit] Male

• Broad white line above eye
• Large white patch from ear-coverts down to side of neck
• Glossy black rest of head, throat and upper breast
• Glossy black hindneck to rump
• White uppertail coverts and tail (with broad black subterminal area)
• Black upperwing, most of secondary wing-coverts white
• White underparts below breast
• Ivory-coloured to creamy bill with blackish nasal groove
• Dark bluish-grey to blackish legs

Female
Photo by DRMW
Gosnells, Perth, Australia, November 2009

[edit] Female

• White forehead and throat
• Broad black band from crown down side of face to chest, behind this a broad white area from the eye down to the shoulder, meeting the white underparts

Juveniles have a mixed appearance between males and females with a black crown, a white stripe above the eye, a white throat and a white area from the eye to the shoulder.

[edit] Distribution

Found in Australia (except Tasmania and dry interior of Western Australia), extreme southern New Guinea, and Timor. Introduced on Lord Howe Island.
Common to abundant in its range. Introductions in New Zealand, Hawaii and in Fiji failed.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

There are two subspecies:

• G. c. neglecta:

• Northern Australia, extreme southern New Guinea and Timor

• G. c. cyanoleuca:

• Mainland Australia, except north and the most arid areas

Juvenile
Photo by julien
Lake Wendouree, Victoria, Australia, December 2004

[edit] Habitat

Widespread but is absent from deep forest; common in urban areas. Needs mud and water for nest building.
Occurs from the lowlands up to 1000m, occasionally higher.

[edit] Behaviour

Usually seen singly or in pairs. Young birds can form bigger groups.
Mainly a resident species, partly migratory in some parts of its range.

[edit] Diet

Feeds mainly on invertebrates (like spiders, worms, insects and crustaceans), takes also small frogs and sometimes some seeds. Mainly foraging on the ground, walking or wading in muddy margins.

Nest
Photo by Rose Fletcher
Torrens River Linear Park, Adelaide, South Australia, August 2009

[edit] Breeding

Breeding season related to rainfall and availability of mud for nest construction. A monogamous species, pairs stay together several years. The nest is an open cup made of plant material plastered with mud and lined with grass, feathers and fur. It's placed on a flat branch, usually near water. Lays 1 - 6 eggs. Pallid Cuckoo, Australian Koel and Channel-billed Cuckoo are reported to parasitize this species.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
3. Simpson, K and N Day. 1998. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-4877-5

• List of references

[edit] External Links