White-browed Woodswallow
Masked Woodswallow
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© Andrew Humpage
Fast Facts
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- IUCN Conservation Status
- LEAST CONCERN (LC)
-
Classification
- Genus
- Artamus
- Species
- superciliosus
- Family
- Artamidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Class
- Aves
-
- Size Range
- 19 cm to 21 cm
The White-browed Woodswallow is a dark bird with a distinctive white eyebrow, they roost together in tight clusters at night, as well as during cold weather and storms.
What do White-browed Woodswallows look like?
Identification
The White-browed Woodswallow is a dark bird with a distinctive white eyebrow. The face and chin are black, the upperparts are deep blue grey and the lower breast to undertail is a rich chestnut brown. The underwings and undertail are pale whitish-grey, with white tail tips. Females are duller than males, with a browner body and pink to fawn underparts. Young birds are mainly brown, mottled and streaked buff to cream, and lack the white brow. This species is colonial and travels in large flocks that roost together in tight clusters.
Where do White-browed Woodswallows live?
Habitat
The White-browed Woodswallow is found in a wide range of inland habitats, from eucalypt forests and woodlands to dry heaths and spinifex. It can also be found in farmlands, orchards and towns.
Distribution
The White-browed Woodswallow is widespread throughout eastern Australia, with some vagrants to northern Tasmania. It is not found on Cape York Peninsula and is only irregularly found in Western Australia.
What do White-browed Woodswallows eat and how do they communicate?
Feeding and diet
The White-browed Woodswallow eats insects, catching them on the wing or foraging in foliage or on the ground. Like other woodswallows, this species has a divided, brush-tipped tongue that can be used to feed on nectar from flowers.
Communication
Musical: 'chep, chep'; also soft chattering, harsh scoldings and some mimicry.
What are White-browed Woodswallows breeding behaviours?
Breeding Behaviour/s
The White-browed Woodswallow builds a loose shallow nest from twigs, grasses and roots, which is placed in a tree fork, hollow stump or fence post, about 1 m to 6 m above the ground. Both sexes build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the young.
Breeding Season: August to December.
Seasonality
Nomadic; partial migrant, moving north in autumn and south in spring.
