Family DICRURIDAE Vigors, 1825

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• Dicruridae Vigors, 1825.

Introduction

The Dicruridae are a large polyphyletic family with 152 species in 18 genera broadly distributed from Africa and Asia to the Pacific islands (Dickinson 2003). Australia has some 23 species in seven genera (15% of the world species), represented by 45 subspecies. Many of these are endemic to Australia and are represented by species as diverse as the magpie-lark, drongo, fantails, and monarch flycatchers. Many are migratory while others show local movements only. All share similar feeding behaviours, uniting them in the one family although this may be an artificial alignment.

Within Australia, the family shows a preference for occupying habitats that include forests and woodlands, although they are partial to all well-vegetated areas including mangroves, shrublands, and heaths from coastal situations to the arid interior. The majority of the species are either aerial or arboreal feeders, gathering their food through hawking, pouncing, probing or snatching. Others within the family are terrestrial (Rhipidura leucophrys) or scansorial (e.g. Arses spp.) using similar feeding actions to procure their insectivorous prey. A number are highly gregarious often joining small foraging flocks of mixed species while feeding. Many of these, member of the genus Rhipidura, provide protection to others in these groups, with early warning of potential predation. Others species show preference for pairs or small family associations only.

Nests show a large variation in shape and structure. Extremes in such variation include the large mud cup of the Grallina, placed on a horizontal branch often over water. Other nests include the cobweb-wrapped shallow cups of Myiagra flycatchers, placed in the outer forks of eucalypts; the delicate deeper-cupped structures of the Rhipidura that includes a long dangling tail; and the suspended open structure of Dicrurus placed in the outer drooping canopy of tall trees. Eggs per clutch usually number three but vary from a single egg (e.g. Myiagra) to five for Grallina. These range in base colour from white to salmon pink and are strongly marked with either a cap or corona of fine dots or spots of reddish brown or purple; some are well marked over their entire surface.

Diagnosis

'Reflecting different values for foraging on the wing, feet are weak with scutellate acrotarsia, and bills are variably broad, with shortly hooked tips, notched maxillary tomia and usually dense and prolonged protective rictal bristling, Rictal bristles are more pronounced in this family than in any other Australian corvoid group except Corvus itself.'

Diagnosis References

Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1999. The Directory of Australian Birds : Passerines. A Taxonomic and Zoogeographic Atlas of the Biodiversity of Birds in Australia and its Territories. Collingwood, Australia : CSIRO Publishing x 851 pp.

General References

Dickinson, E.C. (ed.) 2003. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. London : Christopher Helm 1039 pp.

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