Strepera graculina
The Pied Currawong is a large (44cm - 51cm), mostly black bird, with a bright yellow eye. Small patches of white are confined to the under tail, the tips and bases of the tail feathers and a small patch towards the tip of each wing (visible in flight). The bill is large and black and the legs are dark grey-black. Both sexes are similar, although the female may sometimes be greyer on the underparts. The main call is a loud "currawong", which gives the bird its name. Other frequent sounds include deep croaks and a wolf whistle. Young Pied Currawongs are duller and browner than the adults are.
Two other species of currawong are found in Australia. The Grey Currawong, S. versicolor, lives in Australia's south, while the Black Currawong, S. fuliginosa, is restricted to Tasmania. Both of these species differ from the Pied Currawong in lacking white on the rump. The Grey Currawong is variable across its range, grey in the east, blacker in Tasmania and browner in the west, with regional differences in the amounts of white in the wing. Another Australian species that is sometimes confused with the Pied Currawong is the Australian Magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, although the two are quite different in plumage. The Magpie has a grey and black bill and a red-brown eye. The Australian Magpie also has large areas of white on the body.
The Pied Currawong prefers forests and woodlands, and has become well adapted to suburban areas. It is found throughout eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to Victoria, but is absent from Tasmania. Throughout its range it is common and familiar. Outside of the breeding season large flocks of Pied Currawongs form, but at most other times these birds are seen alone, in pairs or in family groups. In the north of their range they tend to stay in the same areas year round, while in the south, they may move from the higher areas to the lowlands, especially in the colder regions.
Pied Currawongs feed on a variety of foods including small lizards, insects, caterpillars and berries. They also take a large number of small and young birds, especially around urban areas where suitable cover is scarce. The growing numbers of Currawongs in these areas have been implicated in the fall in numbers of the smaller bird species. Larger prey, up to the size of a young possum, is also taken, and birds will occasionally hunt as a group. Prey may be stored in a 'larder' (hung on a hook or in a tree fork or crevice) and either eaten straight away or, in the case of larger prey, over a period of time.
Pied Currawongs breed from July to January. The nest is a bowl of sticks, lined with grasses and other soft material. The material is gathered by both sexes, but the female builds the nest, which is placed in a high tree fork, up to 20m above the ground. The female incubates the three eggs for about 21 days, and the male feeds her. The male also supplies food to the female for the first week after the chicks hatch and she feeds the chicks. The young birds leave the nest at around 30 days.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2003
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