Black-faced caterpillar
| Black-faced caterpillar | ||||||||||||
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Black-faced caterpillar |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Coracina novaehollandiae | ||||||||||||
| ( Gmelin , 1789) |
The black-faced cuckooshrike ( Coracina novaehollandiae ) is a songbird from the family of cuckooshrike (Campephagidae) of the avifauna of Australia belongs. Occasionally he is seen as a stray visitor on New Zealand or Lord Howe Island .
Several subspecies are distinguished.
features
The 33 cm long black-faced caterpillar catcher is a slender bird with a black face, blue-gray underside, dark gray wing tips and white tail tip. The flight is undulating, after landing it briefly shakes its wings. The call is a creaky "Kaark" or a melodic whistle.
Occurrence
The bird lives in much of Australia . Migration behavior differs depending on the population: some migrate to New Guinea to hibernate , some stay nearby, others wander nomadically in Australia. These swarms settle where it has recently rained and where there are large numbers of insects. Except for rainforests, the animal inhabits most of the forested habitats. However, it also appears in residential areas and is often seen on power lines.
behavior
The black-faced caterpillar catcher looks for large insects and their larvae on the ground or in the leaves. Occasionally, berries complement the diet. Outside the breeding season, the caterpillars join together to form larger groups.
Reproduction
In the breeding season from August to February, both sexes build a small, bowl-shaped nest in a fork of branches made of twigs and pieces of bark, which is held together with cobwebs. The clutch usually consists of three eggs. Both adult birds take care of the young birds, which fledge at three weeks.
literature
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 1993, 2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
- PJ Higgins (Eds.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds , Volume 7, Boatbill to Starlings, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-195-53996-6 .
- Bryan Richard: Birds. Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3
Web links
- Coracina novaehollandiae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings about Coracina novaehollandiae in the Internet Bird Collection