FAMILY NAME: Dicruridae SCIENTIFIC NAME: Granilla cyanoleuca SUBSPECIES: neglecta
SIZE: 26cm to 30cm. (10" to 12") tip to tail.
LOCATION: They might be found almost anywhere in Australia, with just a few exceptions, for example dry deserts and very dense forests. In Tasmania they appear as vagrants.
BREEDING: Breeding season generally is between August and November, but in the north and in arid regions, they will take advantage of good rain and breed then. Laying 3-5 eggs in a well formed bowl shaped mud nest, lined with grass, feathers and hair. The nests are located on a horizontal branch, often near or over water.
GENERAL: Other names are "Little Magpie", "Murray Magpie", "Mudlark", "Peewee" or "Peewit". This species is related to neither Magpies or Larks, but infact belongs in the same family as Monarchs and Flycatchers. Now sometimes called the "Giant Monarch Fycatcher". At a quick glance, both sexes appear the same, but further study shows some differences. The differences are, the female has a vertical black line throught the eye, whilst the male's is horizontal. The male has a white "eybrow" line. The female has a white face and throat, whilst the male's are black. Both sexes have white iris in their eyes, in immature birds this is dark. Immature birds have a combination of male and female markings.
References:
Michael Morecombe.
Field Guide to Australian Birds, Complete Compact Edtion.Ken Simpson - Nicholas Day.
The Birds of Australia.M. Blakers - S. J. J. F. Davies - P. N. Reilly.
The Atlas of Australian Birds.Birds in Backyards.
www.birdsinbackyards.netGraham Pizzey - Frank Knight.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.
