| Black-backed butcherbird | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Artamidae |
| Genus: | Cracticus |
| Species: | C. mentalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cracticus mentalis Salvadori & D'Albertis, 1875 | |
The black-backed butcherbird (Cracticus mentalis) is a species of bird in the family Artamidae. It is found in southern New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
The black-backed butcherbird was first described by Italian explorers and naturalists Tommaso Salvadori and Luigi D'Albertis in 1876. Although its scientific name translates as "mental noisy bird", the species epithet mentalis refers to its chin not its mind. [2] It is one of six (or seven) members of the genus Cracticus known as butcherbirds. Within the genus, it is most closely related to the grey and silver-backed butcherbirds. The three form a monophyletic group—the subgenus Bulestes [3] —within the genus, having diverged from ancestors of the pied butcherbird around five million years ago. [4]
An alternate common name is white-throated butcherbird to distinguish it from the pied butcherbird, which has a black throat. [2]
Gregory Mathews described the Australian population as a separate subspecies kempi in 1912, citing less white plumage on the nape and tail. However Amadon did not observe this difference. [5]
The butcherbirds, Australian magpie and currawongs were placed in the family Cracticidae in 1914 by John Albert Leach after he had studied their musculature. [6] American ornithologists Charles Sibley and Jon Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between woodswallows and the butcherbirds in 1985, and combined them into a Cracticini clade, [7] which became the family Artamidae. [8]
Like other butcherbirds, the black-backed butcherbird is a stockily built bird with a relatively large head and short wings and legs. [5] It is around 25 cm (10 in) long. [9] Australian birds are smaller than those from New Guinea. [5] Its plumage is predominantly black and white. It has a black head and lores, lower back and wings, with white nape, throat and underparts. The wings feathers are edged with white. The rump and base of tail are grey. [9] The eyes are a dark brown, the legs grey and the bill a pale bluish grey tipped with black, [9] with a prominent hook at the end. [5]
The plumage of the juvenile has an untidy brown and white plumage with the same general pattern as the adult, with a darker bill. [10]
The black-backed butcherbird is found in Cape York Peninsula north of the Palmer River, [9] and in the Trans-Fly region and vicinity of Port Moresby in New Guinea up to altitudes of 600 m (2000 ft). [10] The habitat is savannah and open woodland.
The black-backed butcherbird has been observed anting. [11]
The black-backed butcherbird is carnivorous, preying on small lizards and birds. [10]
Located in the fork of a tree, the nest is constructed of dry sticks with a finer material such as dried grass, bark and leaves forming a cup-shaped interior. The clutch consists of two to four (most commonly three) eggs blotched with brown over a base colour of various shades of pale greyish- or brownish-green, or red. Oval in shape, they are around 27 mm long by 20 mm wide (1.06 in × 0.79 in). [12]
The Australian magpie is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subspecies. A member of the Artamidae, the Australian magpie is placed in its own genus Gymnorhina and is most closely related to the black butcherbird. It is not closely related to the European magpie, which is a corvid.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Cracticinae, bellmagpies and allies, gathers together 12 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas.
The sittellas are a family, Neosittidae, of small passerine birds found only in Australasia. They resemble nuthatches, but whilst they were considered to be in that family for many years they are now afforded their own family. They do not migrate other than for local movements.
The black-faced woodswallow is a woodswallow of the genus Artamus native to Australia, New Guinea and the Sunda Islands, including Timor. It is 18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in) long and is the most widespread species in the family Artamidae. Woodswallows have a soft call with chiff, chap and chattering calls which can include vocal mimicry
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.
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 and Sydney. The grey butcherbird preys on small vertebrates including other birds.
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.
The hooded butcherbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Artamidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The black butcherbird is a species of butcherbird in the family Artamidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest.
The pink robin is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are cool temperate forests of far southeastern Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the family Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Measuring 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in length, the robin has a small, thin, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs. The male has a distinctive white forehead spot and pink breast, with grey-black upperparts, wings and tail. The belly is white. The female has grey-brown plumage. The position of the pink robin and its Australian relatives on the passerine family tree is unclear; the Petroicidae are not closely related to either the European or American robins, but appear to be an early offshoot of the Passerida group of songbirds.
The black-sided robin, also known as the pied robin, is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is widespread throughout New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The frill-necked monarch is a species of songbird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the rainforests of the northern Cape York Peninsula in Australia.
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, Artaminae and Cracticinae. 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. Some species in this family are known for their beautiful song. Their feeding habits vary from nectar sucking (woodswallows) to predation on small 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.
