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Woodswallow
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 (also including the subfamily Cracticinae), or as the only genus in that family (with the butcherbirds, currawongs, and allies placed in a separate family, Cracticidae). 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". The woodswallows have an Australasian distribution, with most species occurring in Australia and New Guinea. The ashy woodswallow has an exclusively Asian distribution, ranging from India and Sri Lanka through South East Asia to China, and the most widespread species is the white-breasted woodswallow, which ranges from Peninsular Malaysia through to Australia in the south and ...
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White-breasted Woodswallow
The white-breasted woodswallow (''Artamus leucorynchus'') 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. Taxonomy The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the ancient Greek words ''leukos'' 'white', and ''rhynchos'' 'bill'. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the ancient Greek words ''leukos'' 'white', and ''rhynchos'' 'bill'. Nine subspecies of ''Artamus leucorynchus'' and their habitat ranges are: * ''A. l. albiventer'' (Lesson, 1831) - Sulawesi and Lesser Sundas * ''A. l. amydrus'' (Oberholser, 1917) - Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung, Kangean Islands, Java and Bali * ''A. l. humei'' (Stresemann, 1913) - And ...
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White-breasted Woodswallow
The white-breasted woodswallow (''Artamus leucorynchus'') 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. Taxonomy The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the ancient Greek words ''leukos'' 'white', and ''rhynchos'' 'bill'. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the ancient Greek words ''leukos'' 'white', and ''rhynchos'' 'bill'. Nine subspecies of ''Artamus leucorynchus'' and their habitat ranges are: * ''A. l. albiventer'' (Lesson, 1831) - Sulawesi and Lesser Sundas * ''A. l. amydrus'' (Oberholser, 1917) - Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung, Kangean Islands, Java and Bali * ''A. l. humei'' (Stresemann, 1913) - And ...
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Artamus Leucorynchus - Wonga
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 (also including the subfamily Cracticinae), or as the only genus in that family (with the butcherbirds, currawongs, and allies placed in a separate family, Cracticidae). 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". The woodswallows have an Australasian distribution, with most species occurring in Australia and New Guinea. The ashy woodswallow has an exclusively Asian distribution, ranging from India and Sri Lanka through South East Asia to China, and the most widespread species is the white-breasted woodswallow, which ranges from Peninsular Malaysia through to Australia in the south ...
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Dusky Woodswallow
The dusky woodswallow (''Artamus cyanopterus'') 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. 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. Taxonomy The dusky woodswallow was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 with the binomial name ''Loxia cyanoptera''. Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''cyanos'' 'blue' and ''pteron'' 'wing'. Description The dusky woodswallow is medium-sized a ...
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Ashy Woodswallow
The ashy woodswallow (''Artamus fuscus''), sometimes also called the ashy swallow-shrike, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia. Like other woodswallows, it has a short curved bill, a short square tail and long wings. It is usually seen perched in groups, high on powerlines, tall bare trees and most often in areas with a predominance of tall palm trees. Description This stocky woodswallow has an ashy grey upperparts with a darker head and a narrow pale band on the rump. The underside is pinkish grey and the short slaty black tail is tipped in white. The finch-like bill is silvery. In flight the long wing looks very broad at the base giving it a very triangular outline. The first primary is very short. The legs are short and the birds usually perch on high vantage points from which they make aerial sallies. There are no geographic variations in plumage and no subspecies have been designated. Males and females are indistinguishable in the field, however an old report sugg ...
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Ashy Woodswallow (Artamus Fuscus) At Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W IMG 5285
The ashy woodswallow (''Artamus fuscus''), sometimes also called the ashy swallow-shrike, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia. Like other woodswallows, it has a short curved bill, a short square tail and long wings. It is usually seen perched in groups, high on powerlines, tall bare trees and most often in areas with a predominance of tall palm trees. Description This stocky woodswallow has an ashy grey upperparts with a darker head and a narrow pale band on the rump. The underside is pinkish grey and the short slaty black tail is tipped in white. The finch-like bill is silvery. In flight the long wing looks very broad at the base giving it a very triangular outline. The first primary is very short. The legs are short and the birds usually perch on high vantage points from which they make aerial sallies. There are no geographic variations in plumage and no subspecies have been designated. Males and females are indistinguishable in the field, however an old report sugg ...
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Ashy Woodswallow
The ashy woodswallow (''Artamus fuscus''), sometimes also called the ashy swallow-shrike, is a woodswallow which is found in south Asia. Like other woodswallows, it has a short curved bill, a short square tail and long wings. It is usually seen perched in groups, high on powerlines, tall bare trees and most often in areas with a predominance of tall palm trees. Description This stocky woodswallow has an ashy grey upperparts with a darker head and a narrow pale band on the rump. The underside is pinkish grey and the short slaty black tail is tipped in white. The finch-like bill is silvery. In flight the long wing looks very broad at the base giving it a very triangular outline. The first primary is very short. The legs are short and the birds usually perch on high vantage points from which they make aerial sallies. There are no geographic variations in plumage and no subspecies have been designated. Males and females are indistinguishable in the field, however an old report sugg ...
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Great Woodswallow
The great woodswallow (''Artamus maximus''), 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 in length and in mass.McNab, Brian K.; “Ecological Energetics of Birds in New Guinea”; in ''Bulletin of Florida Museum of Natural History'', vol. 52(2); pp. 96-159 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.Coates, Brian J.; ''The Birds of Papua New Guinea Including the Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville: Volume 2 - Passerines''; pp. 373-375. Distribution and habitat The great woodswallow occurs naturally in tropical moist montane forest, usually amongst clearings with dead trees, most typically dead emergents above the canopy of primar ...
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Great Woodswallow
The great woodswallow (''Artamus maximus''), 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 in length and in mass.McNab, Brian K.; “Ecological Energetics of Birds in New Guinea”; in ''Bulletin of Florida Museum of Natural History'', vol. 52(2); pp. 96-159 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.Coates, Brian J.; ''The Birds of Papua New Guinea Including the Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville: Volume 2 - Passerines''; pp. 373-375. Distribution and habitat The great woodswallow occurs naturally in tropical moist montane forest, usually amongst clearings with dead trees, most typically dead emergents above the canopy of primar ...
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Artamidae
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, butcherbirds and 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. 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). Taxonomy and systematics The family Artamidae was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. 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 ...
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Fiji Woodswallow
The Fiji woodswallow (''Artamus mentalis'') is a species of woodswallow in the family Artamidae. It is endemic to most of the islands of Fiji, although it is absent from Kadavu Archipelago and the Lau Archipelago.Clunie, F. (1976) "Behaviour and Nesting of the Fijian White-breasted Woodswallows" ''Notornis'' 23: 61-7 The species was once considered a race of the white-breasted woodswallow, which breeds from Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu through to Borneo and the Philippines. Some authors retain it in that species. The Fiji woodswallow is a chunky bird 18 centimetres (7 in) long with a heavy black-tipped blue bill.Pratt, H., Bruner, P & Berrett, D. (1987) ''The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific'' Princeton University Press:Princeton The plumage is sooty dark above, with a white belly, rump and throat. It is distinguished from the white-breasted woodswallow by the amount of white on the throat, which in the Fiji woodswallow comes up to the level of the bil ...
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Cracticinae
The Cracticinae, bellmagpies and allies, gathers together 12 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas. Historically, the cracticines – currawongs, Australian magpie and butcherbirds – were seen as a separate family Cracticidae and, according to the 2018 Cements List, they still are. With their 1985 DNA study, Sibley and Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between the woodswallows and the butcherbirds in 1985, and placed them in a Cracticini clade, now the family Artamidae. The two species of peltops were once placed with the monarch flycatchers but are now placed here. The cracticines have large, straight bills and mostly black, white or grey plumage. 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; and currawongs are true omnivores, taking fruit, grain, meat, insects, eggs and nestlings. The female constructs bulky n ...
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