currawong

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currawong

bird

Also known as: Strepera, crow-shrike, piping-crow

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also called:: piping-crow, or crow-shrike

Related Topics:: Cracticidae; chillawong

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currawong, any of several songbirds of the Australian family Cracticidae (order Passeriformes). They are large, up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) long, with black, gray, or black-and-white plumage and yellow eyes. All have resounding, metallic voices. Found in woodlands and occasionally flocking into suburban areas, currawongs live on fruit, insects, small animals, and other birds’ eggs and young: they may be a nuisance in orchards and hen yards. The pied currawong, or chillawong (Strepera graculina) makes rolling sounds; the gray currawong (S. versicolor), also called squeaker, or rainbird, makes clanking noises.