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Australian Wildlife

  Black-faced Woodswallow (Artamus cinereus)





Black-faced Woodswallow | Artamus cinereus photo
Black-faced Woodswallow

Image by www.aviceda.org - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







BIRD FACTS

Description
The Black-faced Woodswallow is a grey bird with black on the face from the eye to around the bill. The tail is black with white tip. Young birds are browner in colour. It is similar to the Masked Woodswallow (A. personatus) which has a larger face patch that covers the whole side of the head and throat. It may also be confused with the Dusky Woodswallow (A. cyanopterus) which is similar in colour but does not have a black face patch.

Size
18cm

Habitat
open woodland, farmland, near wetlands

Food
insects, and some nectar. It can catch insects on the wing.

Breeding
It builds a nest made of twigs in a small tree or tree stump. Lays three or four whitish eggs mottled with spots.

Range
The Black-faced Woodswallow is widespread and found throughout most of Australia except Tasmania. It is found west of the Great Dividing Range in New south Wales and Victoria (i.e. not common in coastal areas of New South Wales and Victoria). Also found in New Guinea

distribution map showing range of Artamus cinereus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Artamidae
Genus:Artamus
Species:cinereus
Common Name:Black-faced Woodswallow

Relatives in same Genus
  Dusky Woodswallow (A. cyanopterus)
  White-breasted Woodswallow (A. leucorynchus)
  Little Woodswallow (A. minor)
  Masked Woodswallow (A. personatus)
  White-browed Woodswallow (A. superciliosus)