The
black-faced woodswallow (
Artamus cinereus) is a species of
woodswallow native to Australia (in which it is found throughout, apart from the eastern margin), New Guinea and the Sunda Islands, including Timor. It is 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in) long and the most widespread species in the family
Artamidae. A mainly sedentary bird, it remains in arid and semi-arid areas even during dry conditions. Although it can be partly nomadic, the species prefers open eucalypt woodlands, scrub, and spinifex in arid and semi-arid conditions. The black-faced woodswallow is mainly
insectivorous, being an aerial feeder that can soar, hover and dive to catch insect prey such as moths. It also often feeds on the ground taking ground insects, or insects caught on the wing to be dismembered. This black-faced woodswallow was photographed in
Sturt National Park in New South Wales, Australia.
Photograph credit: John Harrison