Artamidae is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...
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
''Peltops'' is a genus of birds in the family Artamidae. It contains two species that are endemic to the island of New Guinea. The species have also had the common name of shieldbill.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Peltops'' was introduced by the German ...
''),
Artaminae
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 ...
(with one genus containing the
woodswallows) and
Cracticinae (
currawong
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 ...
s,
butcherbirds and the
Australian magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subs ...
). Artamids used to be
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
, 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
Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system.
Early life
Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 17 ...
in 1825.
The artamids are part of the
superfamily
SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Malaconotoidea
__NOTOC__
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 Cacr ...
, a lineage which is widespread through Australasia and consists of a vast diversity of omnivorous and carnivorous
songbirds
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
. 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
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
''
Kurrartapu
''Kurrartapu johnnguyeni'' is an extinct species of bird in the Australian magpie and butcherbird family. It was described from Early Miocene material (a proximal tarsometatarsus) found at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland, Australia. ...
'' 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
The black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi'', also known as ''Cracticus quoyi'') 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 ...
and had features in common with ''
Strepera
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 ...
'' and ''
Cracticus''.
Distribution and habitat
Artamid species occur throughout Australasia with most species occurring in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
.
The social interactions of Artamids vary from the solitary
black butcherbird
The black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi'', also known as ''Cracticus quoyi'') 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 ...
, which lives alone or in a single pair, to the
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 ...
, which lives in flocks or loose
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
. 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.
Their range of habitats varies between species but most will adapt to rainforest, woodland, coastal scrub (swallows), watercourses, playing fields, pastoral land and paperbark mangroves (butcher birds). Some species have adapted to urban landscapes where they contend with fragmented and degraded remnants of native vegetation.
Morphology
![Aus Magpie morphology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Aus_Magpie_morphology.JPG)
Artamids are a diverse family showing a notable variation in size and shape. They range in size from the short stocky
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 ...
''Artamus mentalis'' and the
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 p ...
''Artamus fuscus'', both of which are around in length and weigh about , to the larger
grey currawong
The grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor'') 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 o ...
''Strepera versicolour'', which measures up to and weighs up to .
The beaks of artamids are strong and robust, sometimes known as a generalist beak. Like
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
s, 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. A trait of artamids (and all passerines) is that it possesses an
anisodactyl
In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger".
Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is use ...
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.
Because they possess a
syrinx, Artamids, in particular the
pied butcherbird, the
pied currawong
The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') 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 ...
and the
Australian magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subs ...
, are able to create subtle songs.
Uniquely among other perching birds, some woodswallows possess special feathers called
powder down
The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator an ...
. The tips of the barbules on powder down feathers disintegrate, forming fine particles of
keratin
Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...
, which appear as a powder, or "feather dust", among the feathers and spread when preening.
The
plumage
Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...
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
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
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.
The
notarium
Notarium or os dorsale is a bone consisting of the fused vertebra of the shoulder in birds and some pterosaurs. The structure helps brace the chest against the forces generated by the wings. In birds, the vertebrae are only in contact with adjac ...
, 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
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
including the family Artamadae.
Behaviour
![Black faced woodswallow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Black_faced_woodswallow.jpg)
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.
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 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.
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.
Most are opportunistic feeders, such as the woodswallows, taking advantage of the flowering plants such as the
silky oak
''Grevillea robusta'', commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a tree, the largest species in its genus but is not closely rela ...
''Grevillea robusta'', box mistletoe ''Amyema miquelii'', and the long flowering stalks of ''Xanthorrhoea'' spp. or insects such as cockroaches or spiders eaten by the
black butcherbird
The black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi'', also known as ''Cracticus quoyi'') 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 ...
. 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
The eastern spinebill (''Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris'') is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. It is around 15&nb ...
''Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris'' or the introduced
house sparrow
The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...
''Passer domesticus''.
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.
Threats
Habitat loss
With developments occurring more regularly the most critical threat to the artamids is
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
and
habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...
. This loss of habitat reduces vegetation corridors (connective parcels of vegetation) that are used for feeding, breeding and safely travelling. 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. Habitat loss and fragmentation can force species into urbanised habitats that impose their own dangers such as cars.
Roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...
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.
Introduced species
In Australia
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
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.
Species
There are three subfamilies
with six genera and 24 species.
In 2013 a molecular study showed the Australian magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subs ...
to be the sister taxon to the black butcherbird.
* Subfamily Peltopsinae:
** Genus ''Peltops
''Peltops'' is a genus of birds in the family Artamidae. It contains two species that are endemic to the island of New Guinea. The species have also had the common name of shieldbill.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Peltops'' was introduced by the German ...
''
*** Mountain peltops
The mountain peltops (''Peltops montanus'') is a species of bird in the family Cracticidae.
It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist mo ...
, ''Peltops montanus''
*** Lowland peltops, ''Peltops blainvillii''
* Subfamily Cracticinae:
** Genus ''Melloria''
*** Black butcherbird
The black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi'', also known as ''Cracticus quoyi'') 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 ...
, ''Melloria quoyi''
** Genus ''Gymnorhina''
*** Australian magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. Although once considered to be three separate species, it is now considered to be one, with nine recognised subs ...
, ''Gymnorhina tibicen''
** Genus '' Cracticus''
*** Grey butcherbird, ''Cracticus torquatus''
*** Silver-backed butcherbird
The silver-backed butcherbird (''Cracticus argenteus'') is a small, shrike-like bird. It is almost identical to the grey butcherbird (''C. torquatus'') of which it considered by some authorities to be a subspecies, ''C. torquatus argenteus''.
...
, ''Cracticus argenteus''
*** Black-backed butcherbird, ''Cracticus mentalis''
*** Pied butcherbird, ''Cracticus nigrogularis''
*** Hooded butcherbird, ''Cracticus cassicus''
*** Tagula butcherbird
The Tagula butcherbird (''Cracticus louisiadensis'') is a species of bird in the family Artamidae.
It is endemic to Tagula Island in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), off ...
, ''Cracticus louisiadensis''
** †Genus ''Kurrartapu
''Kurrartapu johnnguyeni'' is an extinct species of bird in the Australian magpie and butcherbird family. It was described from Early Miocene material (a proximal tarsometatarsus) found at Riversleigh in north-western Queensland, Australia. ...
'' (Early Miocene)
***''K. johnnguyeni''
** Genus ''Strepera
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 ...
''
*** Pied currawong
The pied currawong (''Strepera graculina'') 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 ...
, ''Strepera graculina''
*** Black currawong
The black currawong (''Strepera fuliginosa''), 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 clo ...
, ''Strepera fuliginosa''
*** Grey currawong
The grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor'') 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 o ...
, ''Strepera versicolor''
* Subfamily Artaminae:
** Genus ''Artamus
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 ge ...
''
*** 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 p ...
, ''Artamus fuscus''
*** 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 ...
, ''Artamus mentalis''
*** Ivory-backed woodswallow
The ivory-backed woodswallow (''Artamus monachus'') is a species of bird in the family Artamidae. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
A forest is an area of land dom ...
, ''Artamus monachus''
*** 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'', ...
, ''Artamus maximus''
*** 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 ...
, ''Artamus leucorynchus''
*** White-backed woodswallow, ''Artamus insignis''
*** Masked woodswallow, ''Artamus personatus''
*** White-browed woodswallow
The white-browed woodswallow (''Artamus superciliosus'') is a medium-sized (~19 cm) passerine bird endemic to Australia. The white-browed woodswallow has very distinctive plumage consisting of white brow over a black head with the upper bod ...
, ''Artamus superciliosus''
*** Black-faced woodswallow
The black-faced woodswallow (''Artamus cinereus'') is a woodswallow of the genus Artamus native to Australia, New Guinea and the Sunda Islands, including Timor. It is long and is the most widespread species in the family Artamidae. Woodswallows ...
, ''Artamus cinereus''
*** 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 ...
, ''Artamus cyanopterus''
*** Little woodswallow
The little woodswallow (''Artamus minor''), is a bird patchily distributed over much of mainland Australia, avoiding only the driest deserts and the area within about 300 kilometres of the southern coastline, and showing a preference for rugged te ...
, ''Artamus minor''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q842378
Bird families
Australasian realm fauna
Indomalayan realm fauna
Passeri