Strepera graculina
Description
Size: 440-480mm
Sexes are similar. Sooty black bird with a white band at the base of the tail and a small white wing patch. White undertail. Robust bill, orange iris.
Call
Various including ‘kurar-kurar’, a drawn out ‘wolf whistle’, and others.
Distribution
Full length of the eastern seaboard, up to 500km inland.
Nesting
Pied Currawongs build a large cup-shaped nest of sticks and bark, high in the canopy of a eucalypt. They breed from late winter to early summer.
Habits
Usually in small to large flocks, Pied Currawongs are omnivorous scavengers that often become very tame around picnic grounds and back yards. At times they will take other nestlings. They are communal roosters and can be heard settling down at night with their long drawn out calling. Common, often abundant and altitudinal migrants – spending winter in the lower country.