22 |
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Masked WoodswallowAlternate name(s): "Blue-bird", "Bush Martin", "Blue Martin", "Skimmer*" ![]() Size: 19-20 cm Weight: 26-41 g |
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Similar |
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
Close-up frontal view of a male Masked Woodswallow
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, September 2017]
Frontal view of a male Masked Woodswallow issuing its
call
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]
Frontal/ventral view of a male Masked Woodswallow
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]
Frontal view of a male Masked Woodswallow stretching a wing
[Near Hungerford, QLD, September 2012]
Lateral view of a male Masked Woodswallow perched in an Acacia salicina tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2015]
Lateral view of a male Masked Woodswallow in flight seen in a mixed flock with White-browed Woodswallows
Ventral view of a male Masked Woodswallow in flight
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2015]
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FEMALE |
Close-up frontal view of a female Masked Woodswallow looking sideways
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Windorah, QLD, September 2022]
Frontal/ventral view of a female Masked Woodswallow
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]
Frontal/ventral view of a female Masked Woodswallow stretching a wing
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2018]
Near-lateral view of a female Masked Woodswallow preening in an
Acacia salicina
tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2015]
Near-lateral view of a female Masked Woodswallow
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, November 2018]
Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Masked Woodswallow
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Masked Woodswallow
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Lateral view of a female Masked Woodswallow perched in a
Acacia salicina
tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2015]
Lateral view of a female Masked Woodswallow in flight seen in a mixed
flock with White-browed
Woodswallows
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2015]
Cutout from a larger photo of a mixed flock of Masked Woodswallows
and White-browed
Woodswallows; click on image to see the full field-of-view
(photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
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PAIR |
Pair of Masked Woodswallows perched in an
Acacia salicina:
Male on the left, female on the right
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Pair of Masked Woodswallows in a dead tree; the male is on the
left, the female on the right
[Near Hungerford, QLD, September 2012]
Comparison of a male Masked Woodswallow (lower right) with a female
White-browed Woodswallow
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2015]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Near-dorsal view of an immature Masked Woodswallow moulting into adult
plumage
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2021]
Hybrid Masked/White-browed Woodswallow(?)
Frontal view of a possible hybrid between Masked Woodswallow
and White-browed
Woodswallow
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Oolambeyan NP, near Hay, NSW, November 2012]
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Communal | Mobility: Nomadic | Elementary unit: Flock |
Masked Woodswallows usually come in mixed flocks with White-browed Woodswallows.
Mixed flock of Masked Woodswallows and
White-browed Woodswallows
perched in a group of
Acacia salicina
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
All four possible morphologies of adult Masked Woodswallows and
White-browed Woodswallows
seen together:
Male Masked Woodswallow, left and female Masked Woodswallow, right,
with a pair of
White-browed Woodswallows
in between; male at the top, female below
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Here some Masked Woodswallow TLC:
Male on the left, female on the right; this type of behaviour
is part of a bonding ritual
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Male Masked Woodswallow, bottom right, with a pair of
White-browed Woodswallows
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2018]
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Food, Diet |
Adults: Small insects | Dependents: As adults | Water intake: Daily(?) |
Like all members of the Artamus family known to us, Masked Woodswallows hunt small insects which they devour in-flight. We have also seen them feed on nectar (see below).
Lateral view of a male Masked Woodswallow taking a cricket
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Windorah, QLD, September 2022]
Male Masked Woodswallow that has learned to take a small caterpillar
from a shrub, rather than flying insects on the wing
[Hungerford to Bourke Road, NSW, June 2019]
Male Masked Woodswallow taking nectar from a
Grevillea robusta
(note the pollen around the base of the bill)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Female Masked Woodswallow taking nectar from a
Grevillea robusta
(note the pollen around the base of the bill)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Male Masked Woodswallow and female
White-browed Woodswallow
in a Grevillea robusta
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Masked Woodswallows and
White-browed Woodswallows
festing on nectar low in a
in a Grevillea robusta
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
in a Grevillea robusta
with a flock of
Masked Woodswallows and
White-browed Woodswallows
festing on its nectar (click on image for high-resolution version to see
the many individual birds)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2018]
Part of a mixed flock of (both adult and juvenile) White-browed Woodswallows
and Masked Woodswallows
seen by us descending onto (and foraging on?) a dry paddock shortly after rainfall
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2014]
Small flock of
White-browed Woodswallows
having a drink, together with a few Masked Woodswallows
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Pilliga scrub,
NSW, November 2020]
Small flock of
White-browed Woodswallows
having a drink, together with a few Masked Woodswallows
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Pilliga scrub,
NSW, November 2020]
Masked Woodswallows drinking water together with
HREF="/birds/22/wbrowdsw.php">White-browed Woodswallows
[Pilliga NP,
near Wee Waa, NSW, December 2019]
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Call(s)/Song |
For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own;
comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.
mskswal_20190618_3.m4a | (SW QLD) | Contact call | © MD | |
mskswal_20190618.m4a | (SW QLD) | Annoyed/warning calls | © MD | |
mskswal_20190617.m4a | (SW QLD) | Various | © MD | |
mskswal_20190618_2.m4a | (SW QLD) | Various | © MD | |
mixwood_20180908_1.m4a | (NW NSW) | Large mixed flock with White-browed Woodswallows | © MD | |
mixwood_20180908_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Large mixed flock with White-browed Woodswallows | © MD | |
mixwood_20190910.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mixed flock with White-browed Woodswallows | © MD |
We have recorded the calls of a mixed flock of ca. 200 Masked Woodswallows and White-browed Woodswallows raiding a flowering Grevillea robusta ("Silky Oak") tree.
woodsw_20181029.m4a | (NW NSW) | Flock feeding on nectar | © MD | |
woodsw_20181029_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Flock feeding on nectar | © MD |
More Masked Woodswallow sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.