Pied currawong fact sheet | Field of Mars EEC

What are pied currawongs?

Pied currawongs are large black birds with bright yellow eyes and loud ringing calls. Their scientific name is Strepera graculina. They belong to the butcherbird and magpie family, even though they are often mistaken for crows because of their dark feathers and strong beaks.

These birds live across eastern Australia in forests, bushland, parks and suburbs. Pied currawongs are common in Sydney and are often seen around gardens, picnic areas and school grounds. Students may notice them walking across lawns, calling from tall trees or searching for food in leaf litter.

Pied currawongs are clever and adaptable birds. They can eat many different foods and are able to live close to people. In cooler months they often move from mountain forests into towns and suburbs, including bushland areas around Field of Mars Reserve and Lane Cove National Park.

A pied currawong.

Pied currawongs have bright yellow eyes and white tail feathers that help identify them.

Where do pied currawongs live?

Pied currawongs live along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria. They are found in forests, wet sclerophyll bushland, rainforests, woodlands and urban areas with large trees. These birds are highly adaptable and are now common in many Sydney suburbs, especially where gardens and parks provide food and shelter.

In the Sydney region, pied currawongs are often seen around Field of Mars Reserve and Lane Cove National Park. They perch in tall eucalyptus trees, search for food on the ground and nest high in dense branches. Students may hear their loud calls before spotting the birds themselves.

Pied currawongs live in forests, bushland and suburban parks across eastern Australia.

What do pied currawongs eat?

Pied currawongs are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. Their diet includes insects, spiders, worms, lizards, frogs, fruit, seeds and small birds. They are also known to eat eggs and nestlings from other bird nests when food is limited.

These birds play an important role in spreading seeds from native plants because they swallow fruit and later drop the seeds in new places. In towns and suburbs they may also search through picnic areas, bins and gardens for scraps of food left by people.

Pied currawongs eat fruit, insects and small animals.

What do pied currawongs sound like?

Pied currawongs are famous for their loud ringing calls that echo through forests and suburbs. Their calls are often described as musical, mournful or bell-like. People commonly hear them during autumn and winter when the birds move into urban areas.

They also make harsh alarm calls and softer contact sounds when communicating with other birds. Their calls help them defend territory, stay in contact with family groups and warn other currawongs about danger.

What is the life cycle of pied currawongs?

Pied currawongs usually breed during spring and early summer. Females build large bowl-shaped nests from sticks, bark and grass high in tall trees. The female lays two to four eggs and incubates them while the male helps protect the nest and gather food.

After hatching, the chicks remain in the nest for several weeks before learning to fly. Young birds continue to follow their parents and learn feeding behaviours after leaving the nest. Pied currawongs can live for more than 15 years in the wild.

Females build a bowl-shaped nest using sticks and twigs.

What adaptations do pied currawongs have to help them survive?

Pied currawongs have strong legs and sharp beaks that help them catch prey, tear food and search through leaf litter. Their excellent eyesight helps them spot insects, fruit and small animals from high branches or while walking on the ground.

These birds are also highly adaptable. They can survive in natural forests as well as busy suburban environments. Their varied diet allows them to find food in many different habitats, and their loud calls help them communicate over long distances through dense bushland.

A pied currawong uses its hooked beak for shredding meat.

Why are pied currawongs important?

Pied currawongs are important members of Australian ecosystems. They help spread seeds from native plants and help control insect populations by feeding on insects and other small animals. They are also part of the food web and interact with many other species in forests and urban bushland.

These birds can also help scientists understand how wildlife adapts to changing environments. Their increasing presence in cities shows how some native animals can benefit from urban habitats, especially when tall trees and bushland corridors are protected.

Pied currawongs help connect food webs by feeding young birds and moving energy through the ecosystem.

How can you help pied currawongs?

People can help pied currawongs by protecting native bushland and planting native trees and shrubs that provide food and shelter. Leaving fallen branches, leaf litter and natural habitat in gardens can also support the insects and plants these birds rely on.

It is also important not to feed pied currawongs human food. Feeding wildlife can change their natural behaviour and may increase competition with smaller bird species. Keeping pets indoors or supervised near bushland also helps protect native birds and their nests.

Native gardens can provide food and shelter for pied currawongs and other birds.

Related fact sheets

More bird fact sheets

• Birds fact sheet – Learn about bird features, habitats, life cycles and ecosystem roles.
• Australian magpie fact sheet – Compare another intelligent black-and-white bird.
• Australian raven fact sheet – Compare another large dark bird found in Sydney.
• Butcherbird fact sheet – Learn about another strong-beaked predatory songbird.
• Channel-billed cuckoo fact sheet – Explore a bird that may lay eggs in currawong nests.

Habitats and ecosystems

• Eucalypt forest fact sheet – Discover forest habitats where pied currawongs perch, nest and feed.
• Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Learn about local bushland that supports pied currawongs and other wildlife.

Animals that share this habitat

• Laughing kookaburra fact sheet – Find out about another large bird that hunts small animals.
• Noisy miner fact sheet – Learn about another common Sydney bird that uses loud calls.

Food webs and ecological relationships

• Invertebrates fact sheets – Explore animals that form part of many bird food webs.
• Shrub habitats fact sheet – Discover low vegetation that provides food, shelter and nesting places.
• Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Learn about ground-layer habitats where insects and other prey animals live.

Learn with us