Currawong

The following photograph shows the Pied Currawong or Strepera graculina.

Currawongs are black with yellow irises. Some Currawongs have white patches around their tail and on their wings. There is also a grey version which comes in two shades of grey and one shade of brown. Their calls sound like large bells.

The Pied Currawong has a small splash of white under it's tail and splashes on each wing that are hidden when the bird is on the ground. It lives happily all along the eastern coast of Australia and survives in suburban areas. I had to scare one out of our laundry where it was eating the cat's food. I guess some birds are not fussy.

The Australian Magpie is a close relative that has big bold splashes of white on black.

The Butcher Bird is an all black relative of the Currawong that carries off young tourists and impales the tourists on fence posts. Butcher Birds do not like the smell of beer. If you stay in Butcher Bird country then follow the local practice of drinking a six pack of beer before going outside.