Magpie-lark (Peewee)

Grallina cyanoleuca

Other Names: Australian Magpie-Lark, Peewee, Mudlark
Family: Dicruridae (Monarchs, Fantails, Drongo,19 species in Australia)
Size: 27 cm
Distribution: All of Australia except a couple of small parts of central australia and a strip going from the southern WA/SA border up to the northwest WA coast.
Status: Common
Habitat: Open areas, roadsides, often near water.
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

The name magpie-lark is used in the bird books but everyone in real life calls this bird the peewee. They are in a different family to magpies, currawongs, and butcherbirds, though I often think of them as being a similar type of bird.

The male peewee (pictuerd below) has a black throat and a black face with a white stripe above the eye. The female has a white throat and white around her beak.

Magpie-lark (Peewee) - Grallina cyanoleuca
Photo: Winmalee, Blue Mountains NSW. High Resolution (1878 x 1323).

Some Birdwatching Resources

Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Nicolas Day, Ken Simpson, Peter Trusler.This is known to birdwatchers as "Simpson and Day". I like the pictures in this one the best out of all the major field guides. The information is still very highly regarded compared to most of the other guides. Many serious birdwatchers think "Pizzey and Knight" (listed here) is the best though. I bought this one since I liked the pictures so much I figured (correctly) that I would spend more time looking through it. I feel that I made the right choice since I love the pictures in this one so much. I have the 6th edition, the current one is the updated version of the 8th edition, which has a different colour cover to the original 8th edition with a black cover. I'm not sure why they haven't called this the 9th edition.

Purchase 8th ed. updated from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 8th ed. updated from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 8th ed. updated version from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to purchase 8th ed. original version from Amazon

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by many serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. The text descriptions are better than in Simpson and Day. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 9th ed. from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to preorder the 9th ed. from Amazon

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