woodswallow

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woodswallow

bird genus

Also known as: Artamus, swallow-shrike, wood swallow, wood-swallow

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Also called:: swallow-shrike

Related Topics:: songbird; white-browed woodswallow; little woodswallow

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woodswallow, (genus Artamus), any of about 16 species of songbirds constituting the family Artamidae (order Passeriformes). Woodswallows are found from eastern India, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines southward to Australia and Tasmania. They resemble swallows in wing shape and aerial feeding habits. All are gray, with white, black, or reddish touches (sexes alike). They have stout, wide-gaped bills and brush-tipped tongues.

These noisy, belligerent birds capture insects in midair in open country and roost in close bodily contact; some species breed in colonies. Australian examples are the 15-cm (6-inch) little woodswallow (Artamus minor) and the 22-cm (9-inch) white-browed woodswallow (A. superciliosus)—among the smallest and largest members of the family.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.