Cracticus
Sign in to saveCracticus is a genus of butcherbirds native to Australasia. They are large songbirds, being between in length. Their colour ranges from black-and-white to mostly black with added grey plumage, depending on the species. They have a large, straight bill with a distinctive hook at the end which is used to skewer prey. They have high-pitched complex songs, which are used to defend their essentially year-round group territories: unlike birds of extratropical Eurasia and the Americas, both sexes sing prolifically.
Taxonomy · GBIF
Australian Magpie
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyCracticidae
Observations61,528
Groupaves
via GBIF · iNaturalist · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Cracticidae
- Image
- Grey butcherbird (Funnell).jpg
Show 2 more facts
- P105
- genus
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Biology
- References
- External links
Cracticus is a genus of butcherbirds native to Australasia. They are large songbirds, being between in length. Their colour ranges from black-and-white to mostly black with added grey plumage, depending on the species. They have a large, straight bill with a distinctive hook at the end which is used to skewer prey. They have high-pitched complex songs, which are used to defend their essentially year-round group territories: unlike birds of extratropical Eurasia and the Americas, both sexes sing prolifically.
==Taxonomy== The genus Cracticus was introduced by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the hooded butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus) as the type species. The name is from the Ancient Greek kraktikos meaning "noisy" or "clamorous".