Pied Currawong

Description:

The Pied Currawong is generally a black bird with white in the wing, undertail coverts, the base of the tail and most visibly, the tip of the tail. It has yellow eyes. Adult birds are 44–50 cm (17–19 in) in length, with an average of around 48 cm (19 in); the wingspan varies from 56 to 77 cm (22–31 in), averaging around 69 cm (27 in). Adult males average around 320 g (11 oz), females 280 g (10 oz).The wings are long and broad. The long and heavy bill is about one and a half times as long as the head and is hooked at the end.

Habitat:

The Pied Currawong is common in both wet and dry sclerophyll forests, rural and semi-urban environments throughout eastern Australia, from Cape York Peninsula to western Victoria and Lord Howe Island, where it occurs as an endemic subspecies. In general, the Pied Currawong is sedentary, although some populations from higher altitudes move to areas of lower elevation in winter. However, evidence for the extent of migration is conflicting, and the species' movements have been little studied to date. It has adapted well to European presence, and has become more common in many areas of eastern Australia, with surveys in Nanango, Queensland, Barham, New South Wales, Geelong, Victoria, as well as the Northern Tablelands and South West Slopes regions in New South Wales all showing an increase in population.