WoNoeRFUL WOOOSWALLOWS
John Blyth f) IRDS do not in mostother song- I-rhave to be rare birds. or difficult to seeto There is little be interesting!The differencebetween six Australian the sexesin either speciesof wood- the Black-facedor swallowsall occur Dusky Wood- in WesternAus- swallow. The two tralia, with two, the speciesmay occur B I a c k - f a c e d togetheraround the (Artamuscinereus) edgesofwoodlands and Dusky (1. andopen forests and cyanopterus), can be difficult to c cofilmon and con- identify,especially spicuousin south- when flying, or western agri- perched,silhou- cultural areas. etted, against the These two are sky.They are about slightly larger and Black-faced Woodswollowat nest,Photo: BWoodswallows are not related ofthe tips ofspecial featherson the highlighting the large white comers to trueswallows, nor, despitehaving breastand back, and is spreadaround at the end of the tail. However, brush-tipped tongues, do they all leathersduring preening.This reasonableviews allow the dark, appear to be closely related to contributesto the soft, non-glossy dusky brown underpartsofthe Dusky honeyeaters. There is increasing appearance of their plumage, a to be separatedfrom the much paler evidencethat their closestrelatives characteristic shared with the fawny-grey of the Black-faced. The are butcherbirds, currawongs and common and widespread Black- small but well-marked face mask of the Australian Magpie, and current faced Cuckoo-shrlke (Coracina the Black-faced is obvious withbetter classificationsputs them all together novaehollandiae) and some of its views, as is the long white leading in the family Artamidae. relatives. These songbirds also edge of the wing on the Dusky Remarkably, they differ from produce powder-down, but unlike Woodswallow. their closestrelatives, and from all the woodswallows, have retained Birds in juvenile plumage (the other passerines('songbirds' or the preengland as well. first full setoffeathers replacing the 'perchingbirds'), in lacking a preen The brush-tipped tongue down ofchicks) ofboth speciesare gland, a modified sebaceousgland indicates that the ancestral very different in appearance from at the baseofthe tail, that produces woodswallow is likely to have fed the adults,being mottled and streaked a 'feather restorer', an oily, water heavily on pollen and nectar, but in off-white on a largely brown resistant secretion with many this does not appear to be an background (no doubt providing qualities helping to maintain the important food source for the two camouflage during the very feathers in healthy condition. The speciescommon in the southwest. vulnerable period before and maintenanceof strong and healthy Like all Woodswallows,the Black- immediately after fledging). feathers is vitally important in all facedand Dusky aresuperb aerialists However, even at this stage the fl ightedbirds, especiallysuch aerial and they feed mainly on flying Dusky can be identified from the specialistsas the woodswallows, and insects,taken while on the wing, Black-faced by the white leading a large proportion of each day rs sometimes hundreds of metres edge to the wing and a darker throai. ground. Black-faced Woodswallow i spent preening the feathers. 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Woodswallowscontinued.fiom page 9 tree, looking more like bats than in one breeding season. Those have commonly been recorded birds. This behaviour may occur breeding pairs assistedby adult breedingaround homesteadswhere during the day ifthe sky cloudsover young fledged in the previous year the habitat is suitable. or the temperaturedrops. and it is aremore Iikely than unassisled pairs lhought to be a mechanismfor to be able to raisetwo broods in the John Blyth is Principal Ecologist in limiting heat loss. one year. theDepartment ofConservation and The secondhabit, also seenvery Ifyou are lucky enoughto have Land Management'sWA Threatened clearlyin DuslryWoodswallows. is one or both species of the local Species and Communities Unit at for a groupofup to ten or sobirds to woodswallowson your property,not Woodvale.He is also a joint Editor perch on a bare horizontal branch, only will they act as natural of Western Australian Bird Notes all huddledtogether in a line. Ifone controllers of outbreaks of some produced quarterly by Birds bird nearthe centre finds the pressure insects, but they are a delight to Australia (WA Group). He can be too muchand fliesout. the spaceis watch. They are both quite tolerant contacted on 9105 5161 or email: immediatelyfilled by all the rest of o I humanpresence and both species j ohn b l@c a Im. w a. g ov.au the birds moving closer. In many cases,the deseftersoon appearsto regret its decision, and attemptsto squeezeback into the line. Birds on each end of the row also appearto think that their position is less desirableand continually flutter up and attempt to infiltrate the middle ofthe row, presumablyso that they canhave both sideskept warm at the sametime! The two southwestemspecies of woodswallowsbuild a broad,rather flimsy, bowl-shapednest of fairly light twigs, usually ratherrough on the outside, and both members of the pair take part in nest-building. The nestofthe Dusky Woodswallow is oftenplacedin a quite solid fork rn branchesor hunks oftrees orbehind stiff but projecting pieces of bark, up to 10 metres from the ground. Black-faced Woodswallows are more likely to placelheir nestin thicker bushescloser to the ground, and both specieshave been known to nestin broken stumpsor evenon top of fence posts. Both species lay three to four eggs,which are incubated,by both parents,for about l5 daysbefore the chickshatch. Fledging usually takes between16 to 20 days,duringwhich time both parents,and often some youngbirdsfromtheprevious brood, feed the young. Like many Australian songbirds, wood- swallows will frequently nest and lay again if the first clutch or brood Spofthe bird! is lost reasonably early in the Someonimols hove wonderful comouf oge, con you spotthe breeding season.Occasionally two birdin thisjom tree? Turnto p l9 for o close-up, broods may be reared successfully t0