ELATE VIII 
BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
1. Magpie-lark Grallina cyanolcuca Latham 
Gral-lV-na—grallina , N.L., from grallae , stilts: cy-an-o-leuc'-a—Gk, 
cyanos, blue; Gk, leucos , white. 
distribution. Australia generally; accidental to Tasmania. 
notes. Also called Peewee, Mudlark, Murray Magpie, Little Mag¬ 
pie, Peewit, and Pugwall. One of the most graceful, as well as useful, of 
our birds. It is found mostly in the open, and never far from water. Its 
call is responsible for its name “Peewee" which is usually uttered, 
accompanied with peculiar wing-beats, when it alights. It has an 
uncommon flight, straight, with a heavy, flapping motion of the wings. 
Food: insect-life procured on the ground, and pond-snails. The female 
has a white forehead and throat. 
nest. A bowl-shaped structure, composed of mud, which is rein¬ 
forced with horse-hair, fur, grass, and feathers; lined with grass and 
occasionally feathers. Generally built upon a bare horizontal limb of 
a tree, preferably one growing in, or near, water. Frequently one 
finds the nest of the Willie Wagtail in the same tree, usually on a 
lower branch. 
eggs. Three to six, usually four, varying from pure white to pinkish 
or reddish-white, spotted and blotched with purplish-red and under¬ 
lying markings of slate-grey, chiefly towards the larger end, often 
forming a well-defined zone. Breeding-season: July to March. 
2. Silver-backed Butcher-bird Cracticus argenteus Gould 
Crac'-tic'-us— Gk, cracticos , loud-voiced: ar-gen'-te-us— L., argenteus , 
silver. 
distribution. North-western Australia and Northern Territory. 
notes. An intermediate form between the Grey and Pied Butcher¬ 
birds. Similar in habits and song to the former. 
nest. An open structure, composed of dead twigs and roots; lined 
with dead grass or rootlets. Mostly placed in a forked branch of a tree 
at about 20 feet from the ground. 
eggs. Usually three, pale greyish-green, with spots of burnt sienna, 
chiefly at the larger end. Breeding-season: August to January. 
3. Grey Butcher-bird Cracticus torquatus Latham 
tor-qua'-tus— L., torquatus , collared. 
distribution. Eastern Australia (to central Queensland), south¬ 
ern. Western, and central Australia, and Tasmania. 
