This means they are found nowhere else on earth. [2] Old nests are sometimes tidied up and reused in following years. Pied Currawong Strepera graculina Size: 42–50 cm; Call: loud “currawong”, or deep croaks and wolf whistles. [23] Flocks have also been recorded making the 20 km (12 mi) long journey across water from Maria Island to the mainland in the morning and returning at nightfall,[22] as well as moving between islands in the Maatsuyker group. [23] Birds have been seen using walking tracks to forage along. I have separated the black birds into their own group to assist in identifying them. The Black Currawong is resident all year round in Tasmania and this species is endemic to this large island. The bill is large and black and the legs are dark grey-black. The bill is black with pale yellow gape. The male is somewhat larger and heavier than the female; males of the nominate subspecies average 405 g (14.3 oz) to females' 340 g (12 oz). [9][10], Together with the pied and grey currawong, the black currawong forms the genus Strepera. Small patches of white are confined to the under tail, the tips and bases of the tail feathers and a small patch towards the tip of each wing (visible in flight). They use their bills to probe the ground or turn over clods of earth or small rocks looking for food. Pied Currawong is a large black and white bird. Within its range, the black currawong is generally sedentary, although populations at higher altitudes relocate to lower areas during the cooler months. The eyes are bright yellow. The eyes are duller yellow. [21] Birds have been observed digging wet yellow clay out of a drain and applying it all over their plumage. [27], The black currawong is generally found in wetter eucalypt forests, dominated by such species as alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis), messmate (E. obliqua), and mountain gum (E. dalrympleana), sometimes with a beech (Nothofagus) understory. It has a bright yellow eye. [13] Play behaviour has been observed, particularly with subadult individuals. The Grey Currawong (S. versicolor), whose range extends from about Sydney across to WA, and the Black Currawong, restricted to Tasmania, are quite similar to the Pied. [30], Breeding occurs from August to December. Both mates communicate by soft whistles and croaks, and they utter long, flute-like whistles when carrying food to the young. This is an adaptable species common in a variety of habitats including rainforest, wet & dry eucalypt forest, woodland, farmland and urban areas. Reports of breeding are rare from the northeast. Legs and feet are blackish. [22], The black currawong is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is a companion to my other Bird of the Day blog, which focuses on birds I have seen in Victoria, ... And finally, their call is much less grating than a raven's, whose call really is quite comical. In lowlands it is more restricted to denser forests and moist gullies, while it also occurs in alpine scrubland and heathland at altitude. S.f. During the breeding season, the Black Currawong breeds in pairs, and the breeding territory is strongly defended. [11], Common names include black currawong, sooty currawong, black bell-magpie,[12] black or mountain magpie, black or sooty crow-shrike, and muttonbird. [13] Invertebrates consumed include earthworms (Lumbricidae) and many types of insects, such as ants, moths, flies, crickets, grasshoppers and beetles like weevils, scarabs and leaf beetles. Legs and feet are dark grey. The pied currawong (Strepera graculina) is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island.One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of the family Artamidae.Six subspecies are recognised. Other vertebrates recorded as prey include the house mouse (Mus musculus),[12] small lizards, tadpoles, chickens,[35] ducklings, the young of domestic turkey,[12] Tasmanian nativehen (Gallinula mortierii),[23] flame robin (Petroica phoenicea) and rabbit. Head is black. S.f. The black tail shows rounded white tips. Both parents feed the young, but the male feeds them alone after leaving the nest and as they become more independent,[19] and also moves from giving food directly to them to placing it on the ground near them so they learn to eat for themselves. Both sexes perform “solicitation-display” during which a bird crouches with quivering wings and looking at its or her mate. Powerful, long bill is black. The species has been observed in a mixed-species flocks with forest ravens (Corvus tasmanicus), and silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), white-faced herons (Egretta novaehollandiae), white-fronted chats (Epthianura albifrons), and European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) on the beach at Sundown Point. The affinities of all three genera were recognised early on and they were placed in the family Cracticidae in 1914 by ornithologist John Albert Leach after he had studied their musculature. Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae native to Australia.These are the grey currawong (Strepera versicolor), pied currawong (S. graculina), and black currawong (S. fuliginosa).The common name comes from the call of the familiar pied currawong of eastern Australia and is onomatopoeic. Sometimes, the neck is extended and the bill is pointed upwards. PROTECTION / THREATS / STATUS: The pied currawong is a large black bird, 41-51cm (16-20″) with white markings on the wing, rump, undertail and tip of tail. colei is found on King I in W Bass Strait where it is resident. [20] A typical clutch has two to four pale grey-brown, purplish-buff, spotted, blotched red-brown or purplish-brown eggs. Corvidae - Crows (2) and Ravens (3). [19] Parents also make a long fluting whistle to summon their young. It has a bright . Ravens and Crows have white eyes and are black all over, but the Black Currawong has a little bit of white on its tail feathers. Data for the two island subspecies is limited, but males of subspecies colei have been measured at 360 and 398 g (12.7 and 14.0 oz) with 26 cm (10 in) wings on average, and a female at 335 g (11.8 oz) with a 24 cm (9.4 in) wing, and subspecies parvior at 370–410 g (13–14 oz) for males with 26 cm (10 in) wings on average, and 308 g (10.9 oz) and 25 cm (9.8 in) wing for a female. Grey Currawong (Strepera versicolor) bird call sounds on dibird.com. Fr: Réveilleur noir [23] They have been observed securing dead larger prey to ease subsequent dismemberment; a parent currawong had wedged a dead chicken's wings under a log to facilitate pulling off portions such as legs and entrails to feed to its young,[20] and another time hooked a dead rabbit on a spur of a log to rip it into pieces. The Black Currawong is resident in Tasmania, but it performs altitudinal movements in autumn and winter, descending from cold and snowy upland areas to lowland forests and urban areas. Chat with other birders around the world, post and view photographs of birds in the wild, read and discuss reviews on equipment, blog about your latest sightings. The National Parks Authority tolerated this practice until 1995, when they found the birds were becoming a nuisance and began discouraging people from feeding wildlife. The Black Currawong has restricted range in which it is fairly common. This race is smaller than nominate with shorter tail too. Some variants such as long rolling croak and incessant chattering scream are also heard “killok-killok”. Its flight is undulating with deep, jerky wingbeats, usually interspersed with deeper swoops with wings held close to the body. Cracticidae - Butcherbirds (5), Magpies (1) and Currawong (3). Black Currawong bird photo call and song/ Strepera fuliginosa (Coronica fuliginosa) [21] The black currawong has been recorded in gardens in Hobart in Tasmania's southeast, and around Mount Wellington, on Hobart's outskirts, in winter. The black currawong has a heavier bill and a characteristic call unlike the clink-clink call of the clinking. There are three subspecies. [22] Within its range it is largely sedentary, although some populations at higher altitudes may move to lower altitudes during winter. Three subspecies are recognised, one of which, Strepera fuliginosa colei of King Island, is vulnerable to extinction. [13], There are three subspecies of the black currawong: the nominate form Strepera fuliginosa fuliginosa of Tasmania; Strepera fuliginosa parvior of Flinders Island, described by Schodde and Mason in 1999;[10] and Strepera fuliginosa colei of King Island, described by Gregory Mathews in 1916. [31] As in all passerines, the chicks are born naked, and blind (altricial), and remain in the nest for an extended period (nidicolous). [32], The black currawong consumes the berries of the heath species Leptecophylla juniperina,[33] and Astroloma humifusum, and the native sedge Gahnia grandis, as well as domestic pea,[23] and apples. [24] The black currawong has expanded into the northeast corner of the island, to Musselroe Bay and Cape Portland. [29], One species of chewing lice, Australophilopterus curviconus, has been recovered and described from a black currawong near Launceston. We can see a white area at bases of primaries forming a white wingbar on the underwing, sometimes visible on the upperwing too. [13], large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands, CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of October 2020 (, "Characters of new species of Birds from New South Wales", "The phylogeny and classification of Australo-Papuan passerine birds", "Recovery Outline: Black Currawong (King Island)", "The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000", "Are we losing our native birds on King Island? Included are the Cracticidae, Corvidae and Corcoracidae families - whose total Australian contigent totals 16. The Black Currawong is a medium-sized bird, with a heavy, black bill, black body and white tips to the flight-feathers and tail. [21] Both the Flinders and King island subspecies are found across their respective islands, but prefer more forested habitats there. The two subspecies feed among piles of giant kelp on beaches, searching for fly larvae. Food-begging display if performed by the female while giving begging calls like a juvenile. It forages along the walking tracks and scavenge at picnic areas. [6] Immature birds have browner-tinged plumage, and a yellow gape until they are two years old. [4] The specific epithet is the Late Latin adjective fuliginosus "sooty" from Latin fūlīgo "soot",[5] and refers to the black plumage. The eye is a bright yellow. IV: Dusky Wood-Swallows on migration. Outside the breeding season, part of population moves in flocks of up to 50 individuals to lowland forests and woodlands, and to urban areas. The main threat is the clearing of native vegetation for agriculture expansion. The nominate race is almost entirely black, but it becomes browner in worn plumage. It usually feeds on the ground, but sometimes in tree canopy too. When you can hear the bird's call, we say it's actually one of Santa's helpers checking that the kids are being good," she said. [20], The black currawong is commonly confused with the clinking currawong, but the latter species has a white rump and larger white wing patches. ", "Notes on Tasmanian Birds. They often forage in pairs, but large groups of up to 100 birds may raid orchards for apples or rotten fruits. The male is somewhat larger and heavier than the female; males of the nominate subspecies average 405 g (14.3 oz) to females' 340 g (12 oz). [2] One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie within the family Artamidae. The incubation lasts about three weeks. It may catch small birds in flight. Biometrics: Both sexes are similar but the male is larger than the female. [7] Subsequent authors have considered it a separate species,[8][9] although Richard Schodde and Ian Mason describe it as forming a superspecies with the pied currawong. Now looking at his wings you could almost call him a Dollarbird also.