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Little Woodwallow (Artamus minor) Size: 12-14 cm Body mass: 13-21 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Little Woodswallows are the smallest Australian woodswallows. Their plumage is dark grey-brown, except for the uppertail and the wings, which are very dark grey. The eyes have dark irises. The short, pointy, nearly triangular-shaped bill is bluish-grey, with a black tip. The legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have highly cryptic, more brownish plumage throughout, with heavy streaking on front and back and dark grey-brown wing and tail feathers. The bill is brownish, with a dark tip.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Woodswallow at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Little Woodswallow is available HERE . NB: Reports on ebird of birds submitted by birdwatchers from the Australian Outback tend to be clustered along roads and public areas such as camp grounds; in such cases their distribution is not a good representation of the overall distribution of the species. There are two races of Little Woodswallows, both of which are endemic to Australia. Their exact distribution is complex; for details see a field guide. Nominate race "minor" is found in two patches: One extending from the Pilbara, WA, inland towards Kalgoorlie, WA. The other comprises the south-western quarter of the NT and the north-western corner of SA. The populations in these two patches may be in contact with each other by a bridge across inland WA. Race "derbyi" resides in a wide area from Derby and the Kimberley in WA, via the northern third of the NT, the region to the South of the Gulf of Carpentaria (down to the latitude of Mt. Isa), basically all of Cape York peninsula and into all of QLD and northern inland NSW, except the Channel Country and the Lake Eyre Basin. There are only occasional reports of sightings farther South-West, e.g. in the lower Murray-Darling Basin and southern inland SA. Little Woodswallows have a preference for escarpments and gorges, but they are also found in tropical forest and even in open grassland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "derbyi" B. Hensen reports spotting Little Woodswallows, race "derbyi", at Bowra, QLD, in October 2012 and along the Marrakai track, NT, in August 2012. We first spotted a single Little Woodswallow, race "derbyi", at Salt Caves, Timmallallie NP, in December 2013, where it was seen together with a flock of White-browed Woodswallows. This location is near the south-eastern edge of the species' range. M. Eaton spotted Little Woodswallows, race "derbyi", at Cooloola NP, QLD, in December 2017. P. Brown reports finding Little Woodswallows, race "derbyi", along Bird Billabong Road, near the Arnhem Highway, NT, in July 2018, and along the Buchanan Highway, a few km southward of the junction with the Victoria Highway, NT, in November 2018. M. Eaton found Little Woodswallows, race "derbyi", at Gubara, Kakadu NP, NT, in July 2020.

Photos

Race "derbyi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Frontal view of a Little Woodswallow looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, in July 2020]

Near-frontal view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooloola NP, QLD, December 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Little Woodswallow looking sideways (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kakadu NP, NT, in July 2020]

Lateral view of a Little Woodswallow looking towards the observer
[Timmallallie NP, NSW, December 2013]

Lateral view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a Little Woodswallow
[Timmallallie NP, NSW, December 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Dorsal view of a Little Woodswallow looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mary River Wilderness Retreat, NT, in July 2020]

Dorsal view of a Little Woodswallow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: ca. 16 days

Fledging age: ca. 14 days

In arid regions Little Woodswallows will usually breed after good rainfall, also outside the core breeding season listed in the table above.

Nest building: Female & male

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Twigs, grass

Height above ground: 0 - ? m

Little Woodswallows usually nest in crevices or on rock ledges, but these can also be substituted by suitable hollows in trees.

Overview of the location of a Little Woodswallow nest in a tree hollow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

View of the entrance to a Little Woodswallow nest in a tree hollow (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

View into the hollow and onto a Little Woodswallow nest (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 21 x 14 mm

Colour: Light-grey, with grey to brownish speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Mob/small flock

In the southern parts of their range, Little Woodswallows are nomadic or migrate short distances northward during winter. In the northern parts of their range they are mostly sedentary, even in the arid parts of the continent.

Like other species of woodswallows, Little Woodswallows are in the habit of jiggling their backside, possibly to attract company.

Little Woodswallow jiggle to the right... (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Little Woodswallow jiggle to the left... "I wonder whether Andrea Petkovic has patented that move?" (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Here company is arriving (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Little Woodswallows - a pair? (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Bird Billabong Road, near Arnhem Highway, NT, July 2018]

Food, Diet

Adults: Small insects

Dependents: As adults

Water intake: Daily(?)

Like all members of the Artamus family known to us, Little Woodswallows hunt small insects which they devour in-flight.

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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