Pied currawong

What is a pied currawong?

Pied currawongs are large, black birds with white patches on their tails and feather tips. Pied means having two or more colours. The scientific name for the pied currawong is  Strepera graculina. In Latin  strepera  means noisy.

Pied currawongs are not related to magpies although they look very similar. The major difference is that currawongs have bright yellow eyes. Pied currawongs range in size from 42 to 50 centimetres and weigh about the same as a grapefruit – about 300 grams.

Pied currawongs are characterised by their yellow eyes and white feathers on their tail.

What do pied currawongs sound like?

Pied currawongs are named after their call which sounds like 'curra-wong'. Being a songbird they make a range of sounds including loud ringing calls, gurgles and whistles.

Where do pied currawongs live?

Pied currawongs are found throughout eastern Australia. They live in wet and dry forests, grasslands and rural farmland. They have adapted well to urban areas and are a common sight in neighbourhood gardens and parks.

Eucalyptus trees are the perfect place to call in high pitched whistles.

What do pied currawongs eat?

Pied currawongs are omnivores, meaning their diet consists of animals and plants. They eat a wide variety of berries and seeds, insects, grubs, bird eggs and baby birds. Pied currawongs are also capable of taking larger prey such as small possums.

Pied currawongs are known to create a ‘larder’ for food. A larder is another word for pantry. Tree crevices, hooks and tree forks are ideal for these larders. The food is eaten immediately or stored for later.

Pied currawongs use the forks of branches as a ‘larder’.

What structural adaptations do pied currawongs have?

Like all birds, currawongs have excellent eyesight and hearing. Their sharp eyesight is used to search for and catch prey that might be hiding or moving quickly. It is also helpful to avoid obstacles as they move through the air.

They use calls and songs to mark out their territory which means they need excellent hearing over long distances.

Pied currawongs have a hook on their large beak to pull apart and shred their prey.

A pied currawong uses its hooked beak for shredding meat.

What behavioural adaptations do pied currawongs have?

Pied currawongs create many interesting sounds to communicate including loud, high pitched whistles and a call described as 'curra-wong curra-wong'. Different calls can be used to guard territory as a warning to deter predators or during mating rituals.

Pied currawongs are known to occasionally hunt in groups - in the air, in bushes and on the ground. Hunting in groups makes it easier to catch prey. If threatened, they can use beak-snapping, dive-bombing and aerial pursuit to ward off enemies.

Pied currawongs have successfully adapted to living in suburban areas and as a result their numbers are growing. In urban areas food sources are abundant - both human and natural.

Pied currawongs are a common sight in the neighbourhood.

How do pied currawongs reproduce?

Pied currawongs build their nests in tree forks up to 25 metres from the ground. The pair collect sticks and twigs to make the nest. Females build the nests over a period of 2 weeks. They lay between 2 to 4 spotted eggs and sit on them for approximately 20 days during which time the male will feed the female.

Once hatched, both birds will feed the young chicks until they become independent several months later. Juveniles pied currawongs are greyish in colour and have black eyes.

Females build a bowl shaped nest using sticks and twigs.

What threats do pied currawongs face?

Predators of pied currawongs include brown snakes, lace monitors and carpet pythons.

Pied currawongs also fall victim to parasitic birds such as channel billed cuckoos. Parasitic birds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and leave the hard work of rearing their young to the host bird.

This adult pied currawong is feeding a channel-billed cuckoo chick that hatched from an egg laid in the currawong's nest. Channel-billed cuckoos grow very large, very quickly and demand all the food. This one is still a baby!