Black-faced Cuckooshrike

Ngoolako (Bundjalung name)

Coracina novaehollandiae

Songs & Calls

The call most often heard is a soft churring, often being described as a warbling “creearck”. Bird call recorded by Marc Anderson.

Bird Overview

Cuckoo-shrikes are neither cuckoos nor shrikes, but are called so because their feathers have similar patterns to those of cuckoos and their beak shape resembles that of shrikes.

Identification

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes have a black face and throat, blue-grey back, wings and tail, and white underparts. They are slender, attractive birds. They have a curious habit of shuffling their wings upon landing, a practice that gave rise to the name “Shufflewing”, which is often used for this species. This shuffling is also carried out by most other species in this family. Young birds resemble the adults, except the black facial mask is reduced to an eye stripe.