Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Woodswallows Dusky Woodswallow. Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Artamidae Subfamily: Artaminae Genus: Artamus Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds found in Australia and the islands nearby. Given their moderate size—about the same as a Common Starling—and dull plumage, they are amongst the easiest of birds to observe and recognise: in flight, they look very like large, stiff-winged swallows, and like swallows, they eat very else except flying insects. Woodswallows are smooth, agile flyers with moderately large, semi-triangular wings. They are among the very few passerinee birds that soar, and can often be seen feeding just above the treetops. One sedentary specias aside, they are nomads, following the best conditions for flying insects, and often roosting in large flocks. Although woodswallows have a brush-tipped tongue they seldom use it for gathering nectar. FAMILY ARTAMIDAE Subfamily Cracticinae: currawongs, butcherbirds, peltops, and Australian Magpie Subfamily Artaminae Ashy Woodswallow, Artamus fuscus Fiji Woodswallow, Artamus mentalis White-backed Woodswallow, Artamus monachus Great Woodswallow, Artamus maximus White-breasted Woodswallow, Artamus leucorynchus Bismarck Woodswallow, Artamus insignis Masked Woodswallow, Artamus personatus White-browed Woodswallow, Artamus superciliosus Black-faced Woodswallow, Artamus cinereus Dusky Woodswallow, Artamus cyanopterus Little Woodswallow, Artamus minor This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.