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Falcunculus
Eastern shriketit male
Eastern shriketit female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Falcunculidae
Genus:	Falcunculus Vieillot, 1816
Type species
Lanius frontatus Latham, 1801
Species
See text

The shriketits are a group of three species of birds in the genus Falcunculus endemic to Australia where they inhabit open eucalypt forest and woodland.

Taxonomy and distribution

Species

Three species are recognized, with disjunct ranges:

• Northern shriketit (F. whitei), or White's shrike-tit - Campbell, AJ, 1910: Originally described as a separate species. It is found in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia and the Top End of the Northern Territory
• Western shriketit (F. leucogaster), or white-bellied shrike-tit - Gould, 1838: sparsely distributed in south-western Western Australia
• Eastern shriketit (F. frontatus) - (Latham, 1801): is in south-eastern Australia from the Lower South-East of South Australia, coastally and in the Murray-Darling Basin to south-eastern Queensland, with some scattered occurrences further north and west in Queensland

Description

Males are larger than females in wing length, weight, and bill-size. Males have black throats, while females have olive green throats, and both sexes have bold black and white markings on the face.

Behaviour

They feed mainly on insects, spiders and, sometimes, particularly during the breeding season, young birds. Thistle seeds are also taken. They have a parrot-like bill, used for distinctive bark-stripping behaviour, which gains them access to invertebrates. The bird is unobtrusive, and the sound of the bark strips being torn off trees provides an indication of their presence. They nest high in a eucalyptus tree, in a fork of a branch, both sexes sharing the incubation and the rearing of the young. There may be two broods.

References

1. "Falcunculidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. "IOC World Bird List 7.1". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.7.1.
3. Higgins, P. J.; Peter, J. M. (2002). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes (1s published ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 1050–1063. ISBN 0-19-553762-9.
4. Noske, Richard (2003). "Does the crested shrike‐tit Falcunculus frontatus exhibit extended parental care?". Corella. 27: 118–119.
5. ^ "Crested shriketit". Birdlife Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2021.

General sources

• del Hoyo, Josep; Andrew Elliott; David Christie (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World Picathartes to tits and chickadees. Lynx Communications. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2.
• Dickinson, E. C. 2003. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd Ed. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
• Schodde, R. and I. J. Mason. 1999. Directory of Australian Birds. Volume 1: Passerines. CSIRO Publishing, Canberra.

v t e Genera of corvides and their extinct allies
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Infraorder: Corvides
Corvides Campephagidae Campephaga Campochaera Ceblepyris Celebesica Coracina Cyanograucalus Edolisoma Lalage Lobotos Malindangia Pericrocotus Cinclosomatidae Cinclosoma Ptilorrhoa Eulacestomatidae Eulacestoma Falcunculidae Falcunculus Mohouidae Mohoua Neosittidae Daphoenositta Oreoicidae Aleadryas Oreoica Ornorectes Oriolidae †Longmornis Oriolus Pitohui Sphecotheres †Turnagra Pachycephalidae Colluricincla Coracornis Melanorectes Pachycephala Pseudorectes Paramythiidae Oreocharis Paramythia Psophodidae Androphobus Psophodes Malaconotoidea See below ↓ Corvoidea See below ↓
Malaconotoidea Aegithinidae Aegithina Artamidae Artaminae Artamus Craticinae Cracticus Gymnorhina †Kurrartapu Melloria Strepera Peltopsinae Peltops Machaerirhynchidae Machaerirhynchus Malaconotidae Chlorophoneus Dryoscopus Laniarius Malaconotus Nilaus Rhodophoneus Tchagra Telophorus Pityriasidae Pityriasis Platysteiridae Batis Lanioturdus Platysteira Rhagologidae Rhagologus Vangidae Artamella Bias Calicalicus Cyanolanius Euryceros Falculea Hemipus Hypositta Leptopterus Megabyas Mystacornis Newtonia Oriolia Philentoma Prionops Pseudobias Schetba Tephrodornis Tylas Vanga Xenopirostris
Corvoidea Corcoracidae Corcorax Struthidea Corvidae Aphelocoma Calocitta Cissa Corvus Crypsirina Cyanocitta Cyanocorax Cyanolyca Cyanopica Dendrocitta Garrulus Gymnorhinus †Henocitta †Miocitta †Miocorvus †Miopica Nucifraga Perisoreus Pica Platysmurus Podoces †Protocitta Psilorhinus Ptilostomus Pyrrhocorax Temnurus Urocissa Zavattariornis Dicruridae Dicrurus Ifritidae Ifrita Laniidae Eurocephalus Lanius Melampittidae Megalampitta Melampitta Monarchidae Monarchinae Arses Carterornis Chasiempis Clytorhynchus Grallina Mayrornis Metabolus Monarcha Myiagra Neolalage Pomarea Symposiachrus Terpsiphoninae Hypothymis Terpsiphone Trochocercus Paradisaeidae Astrapia Cicinnurus Diphyllodes Drepanornis Epimachus Lophorina Lycocorax Manucodia Paradigalla Paradisaea Paradisornis Parotia Phonygammus Pteridophora Ptiloris Seleucidis Semioptera Platylophidae Platylophus Rhipiduridae Lamproliinae Chaetorhynchus Eutrichomyias Lamprolia Rhipidurinae Rhipidura Vireonidae Cyclarhis Erpornis Hylophilus Pachysylvia Pteruthius Tunchiornis Vireo Vireolanius

• Falcunculus
• Endemic birds of Australia
• Birds of New South Wales
• Birds of Queensland
• Birds of South Australia
• Birds of Victoria (state)
• Taxa named by Louis Pierre Vieillot