Black crow flutist

The black crow-flutist was first described by ornithologist John Gould in 1836, first receiving the name Cracticus fuliginosus ^[2] , and then - Coronica fuliginosa in 1837 ^[3] . The species name fuliginosus comes from the late Latin word “fūlīgo” (from Latin - “smoked”) ^[4] and hints at the black plumage of the bird ^[5] . American ornithologist Dean Amadon considered the black crow-flutist as a subspecies of the Strepera graculina ashbyi, the raven-flutist crow ( lat. Strepera graculina ), the white plumage of which gradually became darker as it approached southern Tasmania ^[6] . Subsequently, ornithologists recognized the bird as an independent species ^{[7] [8]} , however, Richard Shodd and Ian Mason consider it as a component of the overspeed of the variegated crow-flutist ^[9] .

The bird has many English folk names such as “black currawong”, “sooty currawong”, “black bell-magpie”, “black or mountain magpie”, “black or sooty crow-shrike” and “muttonbird” ^{[5] [10 ] ]} . In Tasmania , locals call the raven “black jay” ^[11] . The species is often confused with the indigenous dark subspecies of the gray raven-flutist ( lat. Strepera versicolor ), known under such popular names as “clinking currawong” and “hill magpie” ^[11] .

The black crow-flutist has three subspecies: nominative - Strepera fuliginosa fuliginosa from Tasmania; Strepera fuliginosa parvior - from Flinders , described by Shodd and Mason in 1999, ^[9] and Strepera fuliginosa colei - from King Island , described by Gregory Matthews in 1916 ^[12] . Two island subspecies have the same plumage, however, compared with the Tasmanian, they are smaller in size and have shortened wings and tail. The subspecies colei has a shorter tail than the parvior ^{[8] [9]} .

Together with the mottled and gray ravens-flutists, the species in question forms the genus Strepera ^[7] . Despite the appearance and behavior similar to those of real crows , crows-flutists are only their distant relatives. The closest relatives of the raven flutists are the whistler crow and flute birds . The kinship of all three groups was revealed almost immediately, and in 1914, ornithologist John Albert Leach singled out birds in the family of swallow shrikes , having previously studied their musculature ^[13] . In 1985, ornithologists Charles Sibley and John Alquist found that the arthamis are also close relatives of flute birds, which were combined with them in the clade Cracticini ^[14] , which later became the family of swallow shrikes ^[7] .

The length of a black raven-flutist is about 50 cm, and its wingspan reaches 80 cm. The male is slightly larger and heavier than the female, weighing 405 and 340 grams, respectively ^[5] . The length of the wing and tail of males is 27 and 19 cm, in females - 25.8 and 18.5 cm ^[5] . Little is known about the size of the two island subspecies, but the weight and length of the wing in males of the colei subspecies are 360–398 grams and 26 cm, in females - 335 grams and 24 cm ^[15] . The weight and wing length of the males of the parvior subspecies are 370-410 grams and 26 cm, and the females 308 grams and 25 cm ^[15] . Both sexes have similar plumage , not counting the white spots on the tips of the wings and tail ^[5] . Beak and legs, as well as iris, respectively, black and bright yellow. During the flight in the area of ​​the underwings and primary feathers of the bird, one can notice white stripes stretching along them ^[5] . Despite the fact that the plumage is not subject to seasonal changes, with age, its color may brighten ^[5] . Young individuals under two years of age have brown plumage and yellow pharynx ^[5] . The oldest bird, which was ringed in July 1989, 2 km from the area of ​​the Furn Three and there was observed in July 2004, was 15 years old ^[16] .

Voice

The black crow-flutist is a loud and noisy bird making a variety of sounds. Her main voice is noticeably different from that of the gray or pied-tailed raven flutist, and is a combination of the variable “car” and “weekend” ^[17] , “kilo-kilk” or even imitation of human songs and laughter ^[11] . Despite the fact that the birds are quite noisy in flocks, they are very quiet during the search for prey and theft of food ^[11] . According to reports, birds actively sing at dawn and dusk , as well as before the storm and rain ^[17] . Parents call their chicks with a strong whistle, similar to the sound of a flute ^[18] .

Similar Views

The black crow-flutist is often confused with a gray look with white rumps and large white spots on the wings ^[11] . The black crow-flutist has a massive beak and a characteristic whistle, not like the one that gives out a gray look, the vocalization of which is a “blade-blade” ^[11] . The Tasmanian raven and the South Australian raven are also the same size as the black flutist crow, but they have no white spots on the wings, and also have a completely black plumage and a white, rather than a yellow iris ^[19] . It is hardly possible to confuse a black crow-flutist with a closely related mottled species , since the latter does not live in Tasmania , has a longer and wide beak, and it does not have a white rump and covering tail feathers ^[15] .

The black crow-flutist is endemic to Tasmania , where it is a common species, but it is rarely or completely absent in areas less than 200 m above sea ​​level ^[20] . Propagated mainly in the Central Highlands and quite rarely elsewhere in Tasmania. Breeding reports in the northeast are quite rare. The bird is found on many islands of the Bass Strait , including the islands of Furno and Hunter ^[21] . In the past, she met on the island of Kent , although her status there is unknown ^[21] . Within its range, the bird mainly leads a sedentary lifestyle, although during the winter some populations can fly from the mountains to the lowlands ^[22] . Packs were also seen making long 20-km flights over the sea in the morning from the island of Maraya to the mainland and returning late in the evening ^[21] , as well as moving between the Matsikersky islands ^[23] . The black crow-flutist also spread in the northeastern part of the island, from the Musselroys Bay to Cape Portland ^[21] .

The black crow flutist is estimated by the IUCN as being the least endangered ^[24] . The number of one of its subspecies , Strepera fuliginosa colei , from King Island has decreased by more than half, possibly due to deforestation for agricultural land ^[25] , so it is in a vulnerable position ^[26] . The subspecies are estimated to be around 500 birds ^[25] . It is unclear whether there will be competition with the larger Tasmanian raven affecting the subspecies ^[27] .

Black crow flutist is usually found in moist, eucalyptus forests, where plant species such as Eucalyptus delegatensis , oblique eucalyptus , and Dalrymple eucalyptus , sometimes with beech undergrowth , predominate ^[19] . The bird is also often found in cool beech or atrotaxis forests ^[19] . In the lowlands, its habitat is limited by dense forests and moist ravines , while it is also found in alpine scrubs and moorland ^[19] . In a more arid open forest, the species in question is replaced by a gray crow-flutist , although both birds can live next to each other in places such as the Central Highlands and Eastern Thiers ^[19] . Subspecies Strepera fuliginosa parvior and Strepera fuliginosa colei live on their respective islands, but prefer a more wooded habitat ^[19] . A black crow flutist was recorded in Hobart gardens, in the southeastern part of the island, and also in the Wellington area , in winter on the outskirts of the city ^[21] . Some individuals in 1994 after severe weather began to breed in Hobart ^[21] .

Black crows-flutists are found singly or in pairs, however, they can gather in groups of 20–80 birds ^[19] . It was also observed that the birds dig up wet yellow clay from the drain and smear their plumage into it . Rubbing the articular sections of the wings, most often with their beaks , they do not wash after that, using this procedure as an analogue of mud baths ^[28] . A black crow-flutist performs a wave-like flight with characteristic flapping of wings, and often raises its tail in the air for balancing during a landing ^[11] . In young individuals, playful behavior is often observed. It was also seen in Maiden that black raven flutists fight with each other, trying to grab hold of an adversary, while others spun on their backs and juggled food such as pears ^[29] .

Lepidopods and lice are small arthropods , many of which are found in certain species of birds. In the Launceston area on the back of a black raven, a flutist discovered and described a species of lice called Australophilopterus curviconus ^[30] .

Nutrition

No systematic study of the nutrition of the black crow-flutist was conducted ^[22] , however, as you know, it is an omnivorous bird that uses a wide range of products, including insects and small vertebrates , carrion and berries ^[21] . Birds most often feed on the ground, as well as in the crowns of trees ^[22] . They use their beaks to examine the soil or dig up lumps of earth and small stones in search of food ^[22] . It has been observed that birds use paved paths for joint feeding ^[23] . A group of ten birds was also registered, which cracked ice on a frozen lake and ate along the coast larvae of flies in discarded algae ^[22] . Most often, black flute ravens feed in pairs, but they can gather in large flocks of 100 birds each, which, landing in orchards, begin to eat apples or rotten fruits ^[22] . A black crow flutist has also been spotted in mixed flocks of birds with Tasmanian ravens , Australian gulls , white-faced herons , minted wagtails and common starlings on the beach at Sandown Point ^[22] . It was noted that the bird attaches large prey to any objects to facilitate subsequent dismemberment ^[18] . So, one adult individual attached a dead chicken to its wings with a log to facilitate tearing apart such parts of the corpse as legs and entrails and feed the young ^[18] . Another individual fastened to the trunk of a dead rabbit to tear it to pieces ^[31] .

The black crow flutist also consumes the fruits of such heather plants as Leptecophylla juniperina ^[32] , Astroloma humifusum , Gahnia grandis as well as peas and apples ^{[11] [22]} . The diet also includes worms of the Lumbricidae family and many species of insects, including ants , butterflies , flies , crickets , grasshoppers and beetles such as weevils , scarab beetles and leaf beetles ^[32] . The bird also learned to feed on introduced Germanic wasps ^[33] . It was also possible to observe how one black raven flutist individual pursued three petroics , one of which was caught and eaten ^[10] . Another potential bird prey is a house mouse ^[10] , small lizards , tadpoles , chickens ^[34] , ducklings , turkey poults ^[10] , green-footed moorhen ^[22] , fire-breasted petoetics, and rabbits ^[31] .

Recently, the bird has become quite bold and compliant, almost like the multi-tailed crow-flutist in Australia , especially in public parks and gardens where people have a habit of feeding it ^[19] . It was noticed that a black crow-flutist eats young peas from pods ^[35] , raids gardens ^[11] , attacks chickens from a chicken coop ^[34] and walks around the barn in search of mice ^[10] .

Black crow flutist is a common sight in the two most popular national parks in Tasmania : Freysine and Cradle Mountain — Lake St. Claire ^[11] where tourists often feed birds ^[11] . Specialists of national parks suffered a similar practice until 1995 , when they found that birds began to interfere and deprive people of the joy received from a picnic in the wild ^[11] . Nevertheless, agile crows adapted so much to snatch out pieces of food left by picnic lovers that birds could only ultimately be deprived of food by an inappropriate ban on feeding in national parks ^[36] . Birds also carry various objects from research camps, such as soap or cutlery ^[11] .

Reproduction

Reproduction occurs from August to December ^[37] . Like all flutist ravens, a bird builds a large nest out of branches in the form of a bowl, lined with soft material and placed on a fork in tree trunks at a height of 3 to 20 m ^[20] . Old nests are sometimes put in order and reused in subsequent years ^[18] . Common clutch consists of two to four light gray-brown, purplish-yellow, spotted red-brown, or purplish-brown eggs ^[37] . As with all passerines , chicks are born naked and blind and remain in the nest for a long period of time ^[17] . Both parents feed the chicks, but after the offspring become more independent or leave the nest, only the male serves them ^[17] . Parents bring food directly to the chicks and lay in front of them in such a way that they can learn to eat themselves ^[31] .

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Artwork
• Higgins, Peter Jeffrey; Peter, John M.; Cowling, SJ (eds.). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds . Vol. 7: Boatbill to Starlings. — Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 2006. — ISBN 978-0-19-553996-7 .