Talk:Black currawong/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Ucucha 16:27, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

• How do the King and Flinders subspecies differ?

The information is scant, basically wing measurements, and there are no differences between the two island subspecies with each other. I am assuming they have been kept separate to each other from their disparate ranges. I have some measurements to add Casliber (talk · contribs) 21:39, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

• "The Black Currawong has expanded into the northeast corner of the island, to Musselroe Bay and Cape Portland."—can you cite this? It seems at odd with the previous statement that it doesn't breed in the NE.

It's been found there but not recorded as breeding, and breeding records are rare from that part of Tasmania. I can only go on what the sources say. Casliber (talk · contribs)

• "The Black Currawong has been recorded in gardens in Hobart in winter."—also needs a ref.

done Casliber (talk · contribs) 21:52, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

• Is there anything to say about their distribution on King and Flinders Islands?

done. Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:24, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

• "This practice was tolerated by the National Parks Authority until 1995, when upon finding the birds problematic, began actively discouraging people from feeding wildlife"—what does "problematic" mean here?

becoming a nuisance - thieving and opening things etc. I got some mention of their habits around humans in the rest of the section. Casliber (talk · contribs) 04:32, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

• Some of the refs give the common name "Black Bell-magpie"; shouldn't that be mentioned in the article?

Yes. done. Casliber (talk · contribs) 23:45, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

Ucucha 16:27, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

I've had a look at possible sources in Web of Knowledge:

Title: Mistletoe nesting in Australian birds: a review

Author(s): Cooney, SJN; Watson, DM; Young, J

Source: EMU Volume: 106 Issue: 1 Pages: 1-12 Published: 2006

Funny - this one says in one bit " The only species of Artamidae that has not been recorded nesting in mistletoes is the Black Currawong (Strepera fuliginosa), which is endemic to Tasmania, where mistletoes are absent" - so a slightly unusual fact but only true because mistletoes don't grow in Tassie. I am inclined to leave this out. Might be good in a family page. Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:05, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

No, I don't think that needs to be added. Ucucha 16:08, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Title: Recovery round-up

Author(s): Anonymous

Source: Corella Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Pages: 115-116 Published: December 2004

I have found Corella can be tricky to chase up - I have not seen this mentioned in Higgins which has alot of references. It is only two pages and I suspect not specific to Black Currawong but one never knows... Casliber (talk · contribs) 14:27, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, it looks unlikely to be useful. Ucucha 16:08, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Title: Taxonomy, distribution and parasitophyletic evidence of the Philopterus-complex (Insecta, Phthiraptera, Ischnocera)

Author(s): Mey, Eberhard

Source: Ornithologischer Anzeiger Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Pages: 149-203 Published: August 2004

Yep. This one has two species of chewing louse - one for this species and one for the Tasmanian race of the Grey Currawong. Added Casliber (talk · contribs) 14:22, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Title: Some parasitic nematodes in the collection of the Australian museum

Author(s): Johnston, T. H.; Mawson, P. M.

Source: Rec. Austral. Mus. Sydney Volume: 21 Pages: 9-16 Published: 1941

• Oxyspirura streperae on Kangaroo Island in Strepera fuliginosa.

the fulltext mentions S. fuliginosa on Kangaroo Island, which is wrong - as below, what I suspect has happened is that the collector was aware of the sooty-plumaged versicolor of Kangaroo Island and presumed (wrongly) that it was fuliginosa. I unfortunately cannot add unless I find discussion of it somewhere. Casliber (talk · contribs) 12:22, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Weird, but I'll have to trust you there. Ucucha 16:08, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Title: Some nematode parasites of Australian birds.

Author(s): Johnston, T. H.; Mawson, P.

Source: Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. Volume: 66 Pages: pp. 250-256 Published: 1941

• This apparently talks about Strepera fuliginosa in South Australia, which I don't quite understand.

Ucucha 06:46, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

I can understand -from reading, Strepera fuliginosa and Strepera (versicolor) arguta which are similarly black-plumaged are often confused, even in by birdwatchers in Emu (!) The black-plumaged versicolor in South Australia I recall being called arguta in some old notes somewhere, so I can imagine this being a source of muddle. Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:54, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

It might be good to mention it in the article if SA populations where formerly also included in this species. Ucucha 07:27, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

No, I mean I think it was a complete misunderstanding. Anyway, I will check. Casliber (talk · contribs) 08:44, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for all the fixes and additions—I'm happy to pass this article now. Ucucha 16:08, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

File:Strepera fuliginosa 4.jpg to appear as POTD soon

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Strepera fuliginosa 4.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on December 18, 2010. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2010-12-18. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! howcheng {chat} 17:34, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Picture of the day

The Black Currawong (Strepera fuliginosa) is a large passerine bird native to Tasmania. One of three currawong species, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie. It is a large crow-like bird, around 50 cm (20 in) long on average, with yellow irises, a heavy bill, and black plumage with white wing patches. It is similar in appearance to the Clinking Currawong, but the latter has a white rump and larger white wing patches. The Black Currawong is usually found in wetter eucalypt forests, in areas above 200 m (656 ft) altitude, mainly in the Central Highlands, with scattered records elsewhere in Tasmania and the surrounding islands.Photo: Noodle snacks