Artamidae

Lore & Background

The family Artamidae was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825. It is part of the superfamily Malaconotoidea, a lineage widespread through Australasia. The family has been divided over time into two subfamilies, with dispute over the inclusion of Cracticidae within Artamidae. Jerome Fuchs and colleagues analyzed mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, suggesting the group may have existed in Australasia for 33.7 to 45 million years, dating back to the late Eocene. A fossil species, Kurrartapu, is known from a proximal tarsometatarsus from the Early Miocene at Riversleigh in central Queensland.

Reader's Guide

Artamidae is significant for its diversity in size, behavior, and ecology across Australasia. Species range from the small Fiji woodswallow to the large grey currawong. Their feeding habits vary from nectar sucking to predation on small birds. The family includes notable songsters such as the pied butcherbird and Australian magpie. Artamids exhibit varied social structures, from solitary black butcherbirds to flocking white-breasted woodswallows. They face threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as introduced predators like cats. The family's taxonomy remains debated, with some authors still treating the woodswallows and cracticids as separate families. Their evolutionary history extends back to the late Eocene, and they occupy a wide range of habitats, from rainforest to urban areas.

Did You Know?

• Some woodswallows possess special feathers called powder down that produce keratin particles.
• The Australian magpie's swooping on humans may be influenced by the stress hormone corticosterone.