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White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

(Coracina papuensis)
Size: 26-28 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes inhabit the northern and eastern parts of the Australian continent, from the Kimberleys via the northern part of the NT, south of the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York, to the eastern parts of QLD, NSW and parts of VIC.

They prefer forested habitats which nowadays makes them most common in the hill ranges.

Sightings

A White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike came to our former place, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, on an extremely hot day in January 2006.

The next spotting was in March 2007, 30 km north of Coonabarabran. Later, in January 2008, spotted also 30 km east of Narrabri.

Seen by us also on a trip to outback NSW and South Australia in March 2008, basically everywhere we went.

Photos

Frontal view of an immature White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

Lateral view of a White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

Here a bird seen from behind

Lateral view of an immature White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

Behaviour

Social behaviour: ? Mobility: Locally nomadic Elementary unit: Pair/family clan

Food

Like all members of the Coracina family known to us, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes hunt small animals, up to the size of a Praying Mantis or a centipede, from low perches.

These pages are largely based on our own observations. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.