White-breasted woodswallow
The white-breasted woodswallow is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds from the Andaman Islands east through Indonesia and northern Australia. The name "woodswallow" is a misnomer as they are not closely related to true swallows. Instead, they belong to the family Artamidae, which also includes butcherbirds, currawongs and the Australian magpie.
White-breasted woodswallow
Image: 33 WHITE BREASTED WOOD SWALLOW
Image: Artamus leucorynchus Cairns Qld
Image: White breasted Woodswallows near Kununurra, Western Australia
Artamidae is a family of passerine birds found in Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southern Asia. It includes 24 extant species in six genera and three subfamilies: Peltopsinae, Artaminae and Cracticinae. Artamids used to be monotypic, containing only the woodswallows, but it was expanded to include the family Cracticidae in 1994. Some authors, however, still treat the two as separate families. Some species in this family are known for their beautiful song. Their feeding habits vary from nectar sucking (woodswallows) to predation on small birds.
Artamidae
The Australian Magpie showing its plumage.
Black-faced woodswallows roosting as a group