Artamidae

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Artamidae
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Recent
Piedbutcherbird.jpg
Pied butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Malaconotoidea
Family: Artamidae
Vigors, 1825
Subfamilies

Artamidae is a family of passerine birds found in Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southern Asia. It includes 24 extant species in six genera and three subfamilies: Peltopsinae (with one genus, Peltops ), Artaminae (with one genus containing the woodswallows) and Cracticinae (currawongs and butcherbirds, including the Australian magpie). Artamids used to be monotypic, containing only the woodswallows, but it was expanded to include the family Cracticidae in 1994. Some authors, however, still treat the two as separate families. [1] Some species in this family are known for their beautiful song. Their feeding habits vary from nectar sucking (woodswallows) to predation on small birds (pied currawong).

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Artamidae was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. [2] [3] The artamids are part of the superfamily Malaconotoidea, a lineage which is widespread through Australasia and consists of a vast diversity of omnivorous and carnivorous songbirds. [4] The family Artamidae has been divided over time into two subfamilies. With few studies and dispute on the inclusion of Cracticidae within the family Artamidae, it appears they have been placed in this respective joint position due to lack of evidence or knowledge. Jerome Fuchs and colleagues extensively analysed both the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of the artamid family. The results suggested that the group may have existed in Australasia for 33.7 to 45 million years, dating back to the late Eocene [5]

Kurrartapu is a fossil species known from a proximal tarsometatarsus from the Early Miocene at Riversleigh in central Queensland. It was around the same size as the black butcherbird and had features in common with Strepera and Cracticus . [6]

Distribution and habitat

Artamid species occur throughout Australasia with most species occurring in Australia and New Guinea. [7] The social interactions of artamids vary from the solitary black butcherbird, which lives alone or in a single pair, to the white-breasted woodswallow, which lives in flocks or loose colonies. While some species are sedentary, staying close to suburbia and ample food sources, others are migratory or even nomadic like the masked woodswallow, moving around in response to changes in climate such as rainfall or temperature. [8] The range of habitats occupied varies between species, but many species are ecological generalists, and can be found in a variety of different habitats including rainforest, woodland, coastal scrub, watercourses, playing fields, pastoral land and paperbarks. Some species have adapted to urban landscapes where they contend with fragmented and degraded remnants of native vegetation. [9]

Morphology

The Australian Magpie showing its plumage. Aus Magpie morphology.JPG
The Australian Magpie showing its plumage.

Artamids are a diverse family showing a notable variation in size and shape. They range in size from the short stocky Fiji woodswallow Artamus mentalis and the ashy woodswallow Artamus fuscus, both of which are around 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in length and weigh about 40 grams (1.4 oz), to the larger grey currawong Strepera versicolour, which measures up to 50 cm (20 in) and weighs up to 440 g (16 oz).

The beaks of artamids are strong and robust, sometimes known as a generalist beak. Like falcons, some of the subfamily Cracticinae possess a sharp projection along the upper mandible, with a corresponding notch on the lower mandible. This hook-like tooth is used to catch and fatally sever the bodies of insects, lizards and small mammals. [10] A trait of artamids (and all passerines) is that they possess an anisodactyl foot arrangement: three toes are directed forward and one toe directed backward, enabling them to perch on horizontal objects such as tree branches and power lines. [11]

Because they possess a syrinx, artamids are able to create subtle songs; those of the pied butcherbird, the pied currawong and the Australian magpie are particularly notable. [12] Uniquely among other perching birds, some woodswallows possess special feathers called powder down. [13] The tips of the barbules on powder down feathers disintegrate, forming fine particles of keratin, which appear as a powder, or "feather dust", among the feathers and spread when preening. [14] The plumage of the artamids is relatively dull, most birds showing a combination of greys, earthy browns, blacks and patches of white. There is seldom sexual dimorphism in plumage, but when it occurs the males are brighter and the females appear dull or resemble juveniles. In many species juveniles have a distinctly duller plumage. [15] The notarium, a fused vertebra of the shoulder in birds that helps brace the chest against the forces generated by the wings, is a distinctive osteological trait that has evolved repeatedly in the passerines including the family Artamidae. [16]

Behaviour

Black-faced woodswallows roosting as a group Black faced woodswallow.jpg
Black-faced woodswallows roosting as a group

Members of the Artamidae, especially the woodswallows, have been known to cluster together during the night and day. Accounts have appeared in literature from the earliest days of ornithological documentation in Australia. [17] The habit of clustering is believed to serve two purposes: retaining body heat during cooler weather and as a social form of camouflage. Another unusual behaviour exhibited by an artamid is the swooping on humans by Australian magpies. While there is not much information on this behaviour, previous studies have suggested that magpie attacks on humans may be strongly influenced by hormone levels. For example, recent investigations indicate that the stress hormone corticosterone may cause magpie aggression and swooping. [18]

Diet and feeding

All are omnivorous to some degree: the butcherbirds mostly eat meat; Australian magpies usually forage through short grass looking for worms and other small creatures; currawongs are true omnivores, taking fruit, grain, meat, insects, eggs and nestlings; and woodswallows feed on insects and nectar. [19] Most are opportunistic feeders, such as the woodswallows, taking advantage of the flowering plants such as the silky oak Grevillea robusta, box mistletoe Amyema miquelii, [20] and the long flowering stalks of Xanthorrhoea spp. or insects such as cockroaches or spiders eaten by the black butcherbird. Bigger species such as the grey currawong prey on many vertebrates, including frogs, lizards such as skinks, and juveniles of smaller birds such as the native eastern spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris or the introduced house sparrow Passer domesticus. [21] The evolution of vertical feeding zones (feeding strategies subdividing into vertical space, e.g. upper, mid- and ground canopy) is noted among the Artamidae. While species will sometimes overlap vertical terrains, most woodswallows use the upper canopy, feeding on insects and pollen, while magpies and currawongs tend to use the ground or swoop down from the mid-story pouncing on their food. Being accomplished in extractive foraging is another trait of the Artamidae; although they are opportunistic feeders they are very methodical foragers, often following a set routine. [22]

Threats

Habitat loss

With developments occurring more regularly the most critical threat to the artamids is habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation. This loss of habitat reduces vegetation corridors (connective parcels of vegetation) that are used for feeding, breeding and safely travelling. [23] After fragmentation, habitats are often too small or are limited by the construction of roads. These barriers cause population stresses and species can become vulnerable to localised extinction. [24] Habitat loss and fragmentation can force species into urbanised habitats that impose their own dangers such as cars. Roadkill is considered to contribute significantly to the population decline of many bird species, especially opportunistic feeders like the Artimidae, which often unconsciously swoop down on an insect without seeing an oncoming car. [25]

Introduced species

In Australia introduced species have caused the greatest number of extinctions. Exotic feral animals such as cats can have a negative effect on artamids. Ground-foraging species such as the magpie often fall prey to cats in urban environments. [26]

Species

There are three subfamilies [27] [28] with six genera and 24 species. [27] [29] In 2013 a molecular study showed the Australian magpie to be the sister taxon to the black butcherbird. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Currawong</span> Genus of birds

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, pied currawong, and black currawong. The common name comes from the call of the familiar pied currawong of eastern Australia and is onomatopoeic. They were formerly known as crow-shrikes or bell-magpies. Despite their resemblance to crows and ravens, they are only distantly related to the corvidae, instead belonging to an Afro-Asian radiation of birds of superfamily Malaconotoidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey currawong</span> Large passerine bird native to southern Australia and Tasmania

The grey currawong is a large passerine bird native to southern Australia, including Tasmania. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of the family Artamidae. It is a large crow-like bird, around 48 cm (19 in) long on average; with yellow irises, a heavy bill, dark plumage with white undertail and wing patches. The male and female are similar in appearance. Six subspecies are recognised and are distinguished by overall plumage colour, which ranges from slate-grey for the nominate from New South Wales and eastern Victoria and subspecies plumbea from Western Australia, to sooty black for the clinking currawong of Tasmania and subspecies halmaturina from Kangaroo Island. All grey currawongs have a loud distinctive ringing or clinking call.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black currawong</span> Large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands

The black currawong, also known locally as the black jay, is a large passerine bird endemic to Tasmania and the nearby islands within the Bass Strait. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie within the family Artamidae. It is a large crow-like bird, around 50 cm (20 in) long on average, with yellow irises, a heavy bill, and black plumage with white wing patches. The male and female are similar in appearance. Three subspecies are recognised, one of which, Strepera fuliginosa colei of King Island, is vulnerable to extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied currawong</span> Medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island

The pied currawong is a 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. It is a robust crowlike bird averaging around 48 cm (19 in) in length, black or sooty grey-black in plumage with white undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill. The male and female are similar in appearance. Known for its melodious calls, the species' name currawong is believed to be of indigenous origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cracticinae</span> Subfamily of birds

The Cracticinae, bellmagpies and allies, gathers together 12 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodswallow</span> Genus of birds

Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds in the genus Artamus. The woodswallows are either treated as a subfamily, Artaminae, in an expanded family Artamidae, or as the only genus in that family. The generic name, which in turn gives rise to the family name, is derived from the Ancient Greek artamos, meaning butcher or murder. The name was given due to their perceived similarity to shrikes. A former common name for the group was "swallow-starlings".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-breasted woodswallow</span> Species of bird

The white-breasted woodswallow is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds from the Andaman Islands east through Indonesia and northern Australia. The name "woodswallow" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallows. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae, which also includes butcherbirds, currawongs and the Australian magpie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pied butcherbird</span> Black and white songbird native to Australia

The pied butcherbird is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird 28 to 32 cm long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the mantle and much of the tail and wings are also black. The neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers are replaced by black feathers. There are two recognised subspecies of pied butcherbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey butcherbird</span> Species of bird

The grey butcherbird is a widely distributed species endemic to Australia. It occurs in a range of different habitats including arid, semi-arid and temperate zones. It is found across southern Australia, but is absent from the deserts of central Australia and the monsoon tropics of northern Australia. It has a characteristic rollicking birdsong. It appears to be adapting well to city living, and can be encountered in the suburbs of many Australian cities including Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Hobart. The grey butcherbird preys on small vertebrates including other birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butcherbird</span> Australasian songbird

Butcherbirds are songbirds closely related to the Australian magpie. Most are found in the genus Cracticus, but the black butcherbird is placed in the monotypic genus Melloria. They are native to Australasia.

<i>Cracticus</i> Genus of birds

Cracticus is a genus of butcherbirds native to Australasia. They are large songbirds, being between 30 and 40 cm (12–16 in) in length. Their colour ranges from black-and-white to mostly black with added grey plumage, depending on the species. They have a large, straight bill with a distinctive hook at the end which is used to skewer prey. They have high-pitched complex songs, which are used to defend their essentially year-round group territories: unlike birds of extratropical Eurasia and the Americas, both sexes sing prolifically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky woodswallow</span> Species of bird

The dusky woodswallow is a bird species of forests and woodlands in temperate and subtropical regions, extending into tropical areas around the Atherton Tableland, in eastern and southern Australia. The global population of the species has as yet not been formally confirmed, but it has been officially rated in the range of 'Least Concern', according to the BirdLife International in 2004. As such, the bird could be described as common in its local habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great woodswallow</span> Species of bird

The great woodswallow, also known as the greater woodswallow, giant woodswallow or New Guinea woodswallow is a species of bird in the family Artamidae. As its name implies, it is the largest member of the genus Artamus, averaging 20 centimetres (7.87 in) in length and 61 grams (2.2 oz) in mass. In appearance the great woodswallow is very similar to the more widespread white-breasted woodswallow but can be distinguished by its darker black upper side plumage and by the presence of a semi-oval black patch below the throat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-backed butcherbird</span> Species of bird

The black-backed butcherbird is a species of bird in the family Artamidae. It is found in southern New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaconotoidea</span> Superfamily of birds

Malaconotoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of omnivorous and carnivorous songbirds widespread in Africa and Australia, many of which superficially resemble shrikes. It was defined and named by Cacraft and colleagues in 2004 and contains the bushshrikes (Malaconotidae), helmetshrikes (Prionopidae), ioras (Aegithinidae), vangas (Vangidae) and the Australian butcherbirds, magpies, currawongs and woodswallows (Artamidae). Molecular analysis in 2006 added the Bornean bristlehead to the group, though its position in the Malconotoidea is unclear. It was initially thought related to the butcherbirds and woodswallows but now is thought to be an early offshoot.

<i>Kurrartapu</i> Extinct genus of birds

Kurrartapu johnnguyeni is an extinct species of bird in the Australian magpie and butcherbird family. It was described from Early Miocene material found at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland, Australia. It is the first Tertiary record of a cracticid from Australia. The size of the fossil material indicates that it was similar in size to the living black butcherbird. The generic name is a Kalkatungu language term for the Australian magpie. The specific epithet honours John Nguyen, the father of the senior describer.

References

  1. ↑ Les Christidis & Walter E. Boles (2008). Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing. p. 174. ISBN   978-0-643-06511-6.
  2. ↑ Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (1825). "Observations on the natural affinities that connect the orders and families of birds". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 14 (3): 395–517. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1823.tb00098.x.
  3. ↑ Bock, Walter J. (1994). History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. Vol. 222. New York: American Museum of Natural History. p. 158. hdl:2246/830.
  4. ↑ Cracraft, Joel, Barker F. Keith, Braun, Michael, Harshman, John, Dyke, Gareth J., Feinstein, Julie, Stanley, Scott, Cibois, Alice, Schikler, Peter, Beresford, Pamela, García-Moreno, Jaime, Sorenson, Michael D., Yuri, Tamaki, Mindell, David P. (2004). "Phylogenetic relationships among modern birds (Neornithes): toward an avian tree of life". In Cracraft J, Donoghue MJ (eds.). Assembling the tree of life. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 468–89. ISBN   978-0-19-517234-8.
  5. ↑ Fuchs, Jérôme; Irestedt, Martin; Fjeldså, Jon; Coulouxe, Arnaud; Pasquet, Eric; Bowie, Rauri C.K. (2012). "Molecular phylogeny of African bush-shrikes and allies: tracing the biogeographic history of an explosive radiation of corvoid birds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 64 (1): 93–105. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.03.007. PMID   22475817.
  6. ↑ Nguyen JM, Worthy TH, Boles WE, Hand SJ, Archer M (2013). "A new cracticid (Passeriformes: Cracticidae) from the Early Miocene of Australia". Emu . 113 (4): 374–382. Bibcode:2013EmuAO.113..374N. doi:10.1071/MU13017. S2CID   85069421.
  7. ↑ Rowley, Ian; Russell, Eleanor (2009). "Family Artamidae (Woodswallows)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 286–307. ISBN   978-84-96553-50-7.
  8. ↑ Burnie, David (2012). Nature Guide (Smithsonian Nature Guides). Melbourne: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 330–337. ISBN   978-0-7566-9041-0.
  9. ↑ Davis, R.A. & Wilcox, J.A. (2013). "Adapting to suburbia: Bird ecology on an urban-bushland interface in Perth, Western Australia [online]". Pacific Conservation Biology. 19 (2): 110–120. doi:10.1071/PC130110. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  10. ↑ Ferguson-Lees, James; Christie, David A. (2001-01-01). Raptors of the World. London: Christopher Helm. p. 66. ISBN   978-0-7136-8026-3.
  11. ↑ Stefoff, Rebecca (2008). "The Bird Class", Marshall Cavendish Benchmark
  12. ↑ Howley, Ian (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN   978-1-85391-186-6.
  13. ↑ Podulka, Sandy; Rohrbaugh, Ronald W.; Bonney, Rick, eds. (2003). Home Study Course in Bird Biology (second ed.). Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. p. 55 (Glossary).
  14. ↑ Lowery Jr. GH; JP O'Neill (1966). "A new genus and species of Cotinga from eastern Peru" (PDF). The Auk. 83 (1): 1–9. doi:10.2307/4082975. JSTOR   4082975.
  15. ↑ Gluckman, Thahn-Ian (2014). "Pathways to elaboration of sexual dimorphism in bird plumage patterns". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 111 (2): 262–273. doi: 10.1111/bij.12211 .
  16. ↑ James, H.F. (2009). "Repeated evolution of fused thoracic vertebrae in songbirds". The Auk. 126 (4): 862–872. doi: 10.1525/auk.2009.08194 . S2CID   59479186. ProQuest   196455823.
  17. ↑ Wood, V.J. (1970). "Observations of the clustering of little wood-swallows Artamus minor". Sunbird: Journal of the Queensland Ornithological Society. 1 (3). Queensland: 59–64.
  18. ↑ Warne, Rowena M.; Jones, Darryl N. & Astheimer, Lee B. (September 2010). "Attacks on humans by Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen): territoriality, brood-defence or testosterone?". Emu. 110 (4): 332–338. Bibcode:2010EmuAO.110..332W. doi:10.1071/MU10027. hdl: 10072/36908 . S2CID   84729525.
  19. ↑ Barker, R.D. (1990). Food of Australian Birds 2. Melbourne: CSIROPublishing. pp. 345–350. ISBN   978-0-643-05115-7.
  20. ↑ Watson, David (2011). Mistletoes of Southern Australia. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing. p. 199. ISBN   978-0-643-10083-1.
  21. ↑ Barker, R.D.; Vestjens, W.J.M. (1984). The Food of Australian Birds: (II) Passerines. Melbourne University Press. pp. 364–66. ISBN   978-0-643-05115-7.
  22. ↑ Kaplan, Gisela (2004). Australian Magpie: Biology and Behaviour of an Unusual Songbird. CSIRO PUBLISHING. p. 86. ISBN   978-0-643-09068-2.
  23. ↑ Gill, F. (1995). Ornithology. W.H Freeman and Company, New York. ISBN   0-7167-2415-4.
  24. ↑ Moore R.; Robinson W.; Lovette I.; Robinson T. (2008). "Experimental evidence for extreme dispersal limitation in tropical forest birds". Ecology Letters. 11 (9): 960–968. Bibcode:2008EcolL..11..960M. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01196.x . PMID   18513315.
  25. ↑ Hobday Alistair J.; Minstrell Melinda L. (1998). "Distribution and abundance of roadkill on Tasmanian highways: human management options". Wildlife Research. 35 (7): 712. doi: 10.1071/wr08067 .
  26. ↑ Blumstein D.; Daniel J. (2005). "The loss of anti-predator behaviour following isolation on islands". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 272 (1573): 1663–1668. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3147. PMC   1559846 . PMID   16087420.
  27. 1 2 del Hoyo, Joseph (ed.). "Taxonomic structure and notes". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  28. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. pp. 205–208. ISBN   978-0-9568611-2-2.
  29. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Bristlehead, Butcherbirds, Woodswallows & Cuckooshrikes". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  30. ↑ Kearns, Anna; Joseph, Leo; Cook, Lyn G. (2013). "A Multilocus Coalescent Analysis of the Speciational History of the Australo-Papuan Butcherbirds and their Allies". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66 (3): 941–52. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.020. PMID   23219707.
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