OTWAY FORESTER 369 
OTWAY FORESTER OR PIED CROW- 
SHRIKE 
Strepera graculina 
Rather smaller than the Grey Crow-shrike or Black 
Magpie, with which I shall deal next, the Otway 
Forester may be known by his loud, mellow, chuckling 
cry, which is repeated twice or thrice as the bird 
flies from tree to tree, and also by the blackness of 
its general plumage, relieved by the white markings 
of the wings. The base of the tail is also white, 
both above and below. It is at first sight somewhat 
like the White-winged Chough (which, however, has 
no white on the tail), but if it be borne in mind that 
the Otway Forester goes about singly or in pairs, 
while the Chough is always in small flocks of five or 
six to twenty, no mistake is likely to be made. Further, 
the Chough is quite a common bird in some districts 
and not difficult to approach, whilst the Otway 
Forester is without exception the most wary of all the 
forest-dwelling birds, as it is also one of the hardest 
to find if you happen to want a specimen. 
Its breeding-place has not yet been discovered, 
but doubtless is in the Otway Ranges. I believe some 
birds breed in the hills behind Lorne, as they appear 
in gardens close to the sea every summer and autumn. 
At Airey's Inlet it is not seen till the fruit ripens, and 
then makes regular forays upon the orchards from 
the hills above, in company with the Grey Magpie. 
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