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Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikeAlternative names: "Blue Jay", "Jay", "Summer-bird", "Blue Pigeon", "Lapwing", "Cherry-hawk", "Leatherhead*" Aboriginal name: "gunidjaa" [yuwaalaraay] |
Sightings
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes are very distinctive birds, easy to identify. We see them regularly (subspecies "melanops") in the area of Narrabri, NSW.
They were also sighted on a trip to the east of the dividing range, in the Clarence river downs, NSW and near Parkes, NSW.
Spotted also in many different locations on a trip into far western NSW along the Darling River and in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, in March 2008.
Photos
Frontal view of a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike cooling by slightly spreading its wings
Near-frontal view through foliage (click on image for larger version)
View of the back of a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Lateral view of a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (click on image for full-size display)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike with a Centipede, an animal that is poisonous and thereby not taken by most predators (click on image for larger version)
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike launching itself into the air (click on image for larger version)
Lateral view of a juvenile Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike (click on image for larger version)
More frontal view of a juvenile bird (click on image for larger version)
Habits
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes have a distinct hunting style. They often check out paddocks from fences, moving along the fenceline about 10 to 20 metres at a time.