Order PASSERIFORMES. 
No. 599. 
Family CRACTIC1DM. 
STREPERA MELANOPTERA. 
BLACK-WINGED CROW-SHRIKE. 
(Plate 489.) 
Strepera melanoptera Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Loncl.), 1846, p. 20, May : South 
Australia. 
Strepera melanoptera Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. (Lond.), 1846, p. 20 ; id., Handb. Birds Austr. , 
Vol. I., p. 172, 1865 ; Sharpe, Cat. Buds Brit. Mus., Vol. III., p. 61, 1877 ; Ramsay, 
Tab. List Austr. Birds, p. 4, 1888 ; Hall, Key Birds Austr., p. 8, 1899 ; Campbell, 
Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, Vol. I., p. 61, 1901 ; North, Austr. Mus. Spec. Cat. 
No. 1, Vol. I., p. 12, 1902 ; A. G. Campbell, Emu, Vol. V., p. 141, 1906 : Kangaroo 
Island ; Mathews, Handl. Birds Austral., p. 107, 1908 ; Howe, Emu, Vol. VIII., 
pp. 132-3 and 136, 1909 (Vic.); Hall, ib., Vol. IX., p. 127, 1910 (S.A.) ; Howe, 
ib., p. 234 (Vic.) ; Wilson, ib., Vol. XII., p. 39, 1912 (Vic.) ; Mellor, ib., p. 40 (S.A.) ; 
Ashby, ib., p. 48 (S.A.) ; Chandler, ib., Vol. XIII., p. 44, 1913 (Vic.); Howe and 
Tregellas, ib., Vol. XIV., p. 71, 1914 (Vic.). 
Strepera melanoptera melanoptera Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 444, 1912 ; id . , 
List Birds Austr., p. 315, 1913. 
Strepera melanoptera halmaturina Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 444, Jan. 31st, 
1912 : Kangaroo Island, South Australia ; id., List Birds Austr., p. 315, 1913. 
Strepera melanoptera howei Mathews, Nov. Zool., Vol. XVIII., p. 444, Jan. 31st, 1912 : 
Kow Plains, Victoria ; id., List Birds Austr., p. 315, 1913. 
Strepera halmaturina S. A. White, Emu, Vol. XII., p. 263, 1913. 
Distribution. Victoria and South Australia only. Kangaroo Island. 
Adult male. General colour of the upper-surface soot-black with dark smoke-brown tips 
and margins to many of the feathers, the feathers at the base of the forehead, lores, 
and fore-part of cheeks stiffened and bristly in texture and the feathers on the 
chin have hair-like tips ; under-surface for the most part dark smoke-brown with 
glossy black shaft-lines on the throat and fore-neck ; some of the primary-quills 
are mottled with smoke-white on the inner webs and some of the outer secondaries 
fringed with white at the tips ; tail-feathers blackish, more or less tipped with white, 
or smoke-white ; abdomen and sides of body inclining to dark dusky-grey ; thighs 
soot-black ; under-surface of flight-quills paler towards the base ; under tail-coverts 
white ; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper-surface but paler towards the base. 
Eyes orange, feet and bill black. Total length 480 mm. ; culmen 66, whig 275, 
tail 210, tarsus 68. Eigured. Collected on Kow Plains, Victoria, and is the type 
of Strepera melanoptera howei. 
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