The Cracticinae, bellmagpies and allies, gathers together 12
species of mostly crow-like birds native to
Australasia and nearby areas.
Historically, the cracticines –
currawongs,
Australian magpie and
butcherbird
Butcherbirds are songbirds closely related to the Australian magpie. Most are found in the genus '' Cracticus'', but the black butcherbird is placed in the monotypic genus '' Melloria''. They are native to Australasia.
Taxonomy
Together with th ...
s – were seen as a separate family Cracticidae and, according to the 2018 Cements List, they still are. With their 1985 DNA study, Sibley and Ahlquist recognised the close relationship between the woodswallows and the butcherbirds in 1985, and placed them in a Cracticini clade,
now the family
Artamidae
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 (with one genus, ''Peltops''), Artaminae (with one genus conta ...
.
The two species of
peltops were once placed with the
monarch flycatchers but are now placed here.
The cracticines have large, straight bills and mostly black, white or grey plumage. All are omnivorous to some degree: the butcherbirds mostly eat meat; Australian magpies usually forage through short grass looking for worms and other small creatures; and currawongs are true omnivores, taking fruit, grain, meat, insects, eggs and nestlings. The female constructs bulky nests from sticks, and both parents help incubate the eggs and raise the young thereafter.
The cracticines, despite their fairly plain, utilitarian appearance, are highly intelligent and have extraordinarily beautiful songs of great subtlety. Particularly noteworthy are the
pied butcherbird
The pied butcherbird (''Cracticus nigrogularis'') is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the man ...
, the
pied currawong and the
Australian magpie.
Species of Cracticinae
Five genera are recognised. The
Australian magpie is classified in its own genus ''Gymnorhina''. A 2013 molecular study has shown it to be the sister taxon to the black butcherbird (''Melloria quoyi'').
* Subfamily Cracticinae:
A
fossil right
scapula (
MNZ MNZ or mnz may refer to:
* Manassas Regional Airport, USA (by IATA code)
* Museum of New Zealand
* Moni language, spoken in Indonesia (by ISO 639 code)
* Metronidazole, an antibiotic
* Maddie Ziegler, a dancer, and actress
* Mainz, German ...
S41061) found at the
Manuherikia River in
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
,
New Zealand and dating from the Early to
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million y ...
(
Awamoan to
Lillburnian, 19-16
million years ago) represents a member of the Cracticinae.
''
Kurrartapu johnnguyeni'' was described from a proximal tarsometatarsus recovered from the Riversleigh site in Queensland. It is early Miocene in age and is closer to ''Strepera/Cracticus'' than to ''Peltops''. The bird was likely similar in size to the extant black butcherbird.
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1975486
*
Bird subfamilies
Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Australasia-Pacific region
Passeri
Taxa named by Jean-Charles Chenu
Taxa named by Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs