Dusky Woodswallow

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.

The Dusky Woodswallow is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The Dusky Woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus), is a bird species of forests and woodlands in tropical and subtropical regions, in eastern and southern Australia. The global population of the species has as yet not been formally confirmed, but it has been officially rated in the range of 'Least Concern', according to the BirdLife International in 2004. As such, the bird could be described as common in its local habitat. More

Geographic range: Dusky woodswallows are found in Australia, specifically the eastern and southern portions of the country. They migrate northward for the winter. Habitat: Dusky woodswallows inhabit open eucalyptus (yoo-kah-LIP-tus) forests (those consisting of tall, aromatic trees) and woodlands, along water courses, and over natural clearings. They especially like rural areas and wet climates. Diet: Their diet consists of insects, foliage, and nectar. They usually catch flying insects, but will also take prey off the ground. More

Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus Enquire About this Image Image More

English: Dusky Wood Swallow, Dusky Woodswallow, Dusky Wood-swallow Spanish: Artamo Sombrío, Golondrina del Bosque Ahumada Finnish: Ruskoleiju French: Langrayen sordide Italian: Artamo scuro, Rondine boschereccia fosca Japanese: usuzumimoritsubame Japanese: ウスズミモリツバメ Latin: Artamus cyanopterus Dutch: Blauwvleugelspitsvogel, Blauwvleugel-spitsvogel Norwegian: Sotsvalestær Polish: ostrolot ciemny Russian: Сумеречный ласточковый сорокопут Slovak: Hmyziar modrokrídly Avibase has been visited 75388748 times since 24 June 2003. More

Turtle-doves, Dusky Woodswallows and White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes were busy feeding their young. Mistletoebirds were darting around whilst keeping an eye on their nests. White-plumed Honeyeaters, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Rainbow Lorikeet, juv Shining Bronze-cuckoo, and Red-rumped Parrots were all busy in the trees looking for food and/or prey. The White-bellied Cuckoo-shrikes were a pleasant surpise, having only seen one about 3 weeks earlier for the first time. More

Dusky Woodswallows live in small communal flocks of 10-30 birds that will huddle together to sleep during the cooler months. More

The following is a photograph of a Dusky Woodswallow at Lake Warden near Esperance in May 1997. More

Dusky Woodswallow at the nest - Leave a comment »Sunday December 16th, 2007 Dusky Woodswallow at nest Dusky Woodswallow at nest 2007 Victorian trip report #6 On our return to the picnic area of the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens we saw several Dusky Woodswallows. I tried to get a good photo of one of them, but in the fading light it was not easy. More