NL·0278Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Cracticus nigrogularis
- Family
- Artamidae
- Native to
- Mainland Australia (except far south-east)
- Habitat
- Open woodland, Savanna, Farmland
On eBird ↗
Pied Butcherbird
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
Pied butcherbird
Cracticus nigrogularis
Also calledCassican à gorge noire (French)
A black-and-white bird famed as one of Australia's finest songsters. It impales prey on thorns and sings complex duets.
The pied butcherbird is a songbird native to Australia. Initially described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black-and-white bird 28 to 32 cm long with a long, hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the mantle and much of the tail and wings are also black. The neck, underparts, and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature, black feathers replace their brown feathers. There are two recognised subspecies of pied butcherbird. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iSings complex fluty duets and choruses
- iiImpales prey on thorns or wedges it in branches
- iiiMimics other birds
In the field
Field marks
- aBlack head and bib
- bWhite collar and underparts
- cBlack-and-white wings
- dHooked grey bill
- Voice
- Rich, flute-like piping, often in duets.
- Not to be confused with
- Grey butcherbird lacks the black bib. Australian magpie is larger and lacks the hook-tipped bill.
- Where to see it
- Inland Queensland, NSW, Northern Territory
- When
- Resident
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Insects, small reptiles, birds, mice
- Habitat
- Open woodland and farmland
- Size
- 32–36 cm
It stores food by wedging prey in tree forks or impaling it on thorns.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Mainland Australia (except far south-east)
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Cracticus nigrogularis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Violinist and zoomusicologist Hollis Taylor spent years transcribing its songs in the outback for her 2017 book 'Is Birdsong Music?'.
Curiosity
Pied butcherbird songs vary from region to region and change from year to year, with individual birds reworking phrases like improvising musicians.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 8493.