Grallinidae

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Grallinidae

bird family

Also known as: mudnest builder

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Related Topics:: songbird; mudlark

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Grallinidae, bird family (order Passeriformes) that includes the mudlark, apostle bird, and white-winged chough. The four species, generally restricted to Australia and New Zealand, are 19 to 50 cm (7.5 to 20 inches) long. They are sometimes called mudnest builders, because high in a tree they make bowl-shaped nests of mud, using hair, grass, or feathers as binder. Several birds cooperate in building each nest, and two or more females may lay their eggs in it. Grallinids are weak-winged birds that progress, in trees or on the ground, by walking. The mudlark (Grallina cyanoleuca) is a familiar open-country species.