One of the 3 magpies on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Artamidae
Australian Magpie
Cracticus tibicen
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The Australian magpie — known in Spanish as verdugo flautista, urraca canora or urraca australiana — is a passerine bird of the family Artamidae, native to Australia and southern New Guinea and the only representative of the genus Gymnorhina. The species is closely related to the members of the genus Cracticus, especially the black butcherbird. Despite its name, it is not related to the magpie, which is a corvid. In the past three separate species were recognised, but the hybridisation zones of each of them reinforced the view that this was a single population with several subspecies. Nine are recognised today.
Weight
220 g – 350 g
Size
37 cm – 43 cm
Lifespan
25 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Family group
Lives in small family groups with close bonds.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- Its song is one of the most complex vocalisations in the world: a fluid, polyphonic warble known as carolling that groups perform in chorus at dawn, and into which they can weave imitations of other birds, dogs and even sirens.
- It recognises individual human faces and remembers for years who has bothered it: in the breeding season it selectively swoops those people and lets everyone else pass, to the point that Australia has crowd-sourced maps of aggressive magpies.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Grassland with scattered trees, parks, gardens and farmland of Australia and southern New Guinea
- Birth weight
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Size at birth
- Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
- Sexual maturity
- 3 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 20 days of incubation
- Litter / clutch size
- 3 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnorhina_tibicen
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in Australia, by day; its fluting song at dawn is one of the most characteristic sounds of the country.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 68 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Australian Magpie — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Australian Brushturkey
Alectura lathami
Laughing Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineae
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Cacatua galerita
Common Bluetongue
Tiliqua scincoides
Satin Bowerbird
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Superb Fairywren
Malurus cyaneus
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about australian magpie.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the australian magpie.
Be the first to comment.