The little woodswallow (''Artamus minor''), is a bird patchily distributed over much of mainland
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 ...
, avoiding only the driest deserts and the area within about 300 kilometres of the southern coastline, and showing a preference for rugged terrain around inland ranges.
As its name suggests, at 12 to 14 cm in length it is the smallest of the
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 ge ...
s. It is dark, smoky brown overall, with deep gunmetal grey wings and a black-tipped, blue-tinged bill.
Like other woodswallows, groups cluster huddled close together on high, dead branches to rest or sleep. Typical group sizes are modest but it is not uncommon to have hundreds gather together at a roost site.
Little woodswallows soar effortlessly above the treetops or along cliff faces when hunting flying insects—being small, they are easily confused with
martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
s.
The nest is a rudimentary affair, placed in a tree hollow or similar space, and made of twigs and other vegetable matter. Breeding takes place from August to January, or after rain. Three eggs are laid and the young leave the nest when barely able to fly, taking up a perch on a nearby tree and calling incessantly for the food the parents bring them.
References
External links
ABID ImagesOn the HBW Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q267580
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 ...
Endemic birds of Australia
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 ...
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 ...
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