White-breasted Woodswallow
Encyclopedia
The White-breasted Woodswallow, Artamus leucorynchus, is a small passerine
bird which breeds from the Andaman Islands
east through Indonesia
and northern Australia
. The name "woodswallow
" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallow
s. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae
, which also includes butcherbird
s, currawong
s and the Australian Magpie
.
The species was first described by Linnaeus
in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek
words leucos 'white', and rhynchos 'bill'.
This woodswallow's
soft-plumage is charcoal grey apart from the white underparts that give the species its English and scientific names. Despite its brush-tipped tongue, usually associated with nectar feeders, it catches insect
s on the wing.
The white-breasted Woodswallow has large, pointed wings and is very agile in powered and gliding flight. This is a nomadic species, following the best conditions for flying insect
s, and often roosting in large flocks.
The nest is a small structure built in the hollow formed by a broken branch, or in a forked branch. The normal clutch is three egg
s.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird which breeds from the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
east through Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The name "woodswallow
Woodswallow
Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds. There is a single genus, Artamus, The woodswallows are either treated as a subfamily, Artaminae in an expanded family Artamidae, which includes the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie, or as the only genus in that family...
" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
s. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae
Artamidae
The family Artamidae gathers together 20 species of mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas.There are two subfamilies: Artaminae, the woodswallows, are sombre-coloured, soft-plumaged birds that have a brush-tipped tongue but seldom use it for gathering nectar. Instead, they...
, which also includes butcherbird
Butcherbird
Butcherbirds are magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus. They are native to Australasia. Their closest relatives are the three species of currawong...
s, currawong
Currawong
Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus Strepera in the family Artamidae native to Australasia. These are the Grey Currawong , Pied Currawong , and Black Currawong . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia...
s and the Australian Magpie
Australian Magpie
The Australian Magpie is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Artamidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds...
.
The species was first described by Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in 1771, its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words leucos 'white', and rhynchos 'bill'.
This woodswallow's
Woodswallow
Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds. There is a single genus, Artamus, The woodswallows are either treated as a subfamily, Artaminae in an expanded family Artamidae, which includes the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie, or as the only genus in that family...
soft-plumage is charcoal grey apart from the white underparts that give the species its English and scientific names. Despite its brush-tipped tongue, usually associated with nectar feeders, it catches insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s on the wing.
The white-breasted Woodswallow has large, pointed wings and is very agile in powered and gliding flight. This is a nomadic species, following the best conditions for flying insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, and often roosting in large flocks.
The nest is a small structure built in the hollow formed by a broken branch, or in a forked branch. The normal clutch is three egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s.
External links
- ABID Images
- White-breasted woodswallow videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection