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Grallina cyanoleuca
Pied black-and-white Australian songbird, not actually a lark or magpie despite the name. Builds a sturdy mud bowl in the fork of a tree and defends it from competitors with shrill duets.
Widespread and abundant; no known immediate threats to the population.
Despite the name, Magpie-larks are neither magpies nor larks. They're a uniquely Australian songbird in the monarch flycatcher family.
Pairs build a distinctive deep mud bowl on a horizontal branch and reuse it for many years.
They sing duets, male and female alternate notes so precisely that it sounds like a single bird.
Magpie-larks are common Australian backyard birds. Lawn, water, and a sheltered ledge are usually enough.
Insects on lawns; they forage on grass. They'll occasionally take suet or mealworms from a tray feeder.
Mount the open shelf or a horizontal beam under a porch or pergola; they prefer broad horizontal surfaces.
Bird bath; they drink and bathe regularly.
Open lawn for foraging with scattered trees and shrubs nearby.
Don't site the shelf in deep shrub cover; they want open sightlines.
A common Australian songbird found in nearly every open and semi-open habitat on the continent.
Year-round resident across virtually the entire continent except the most arid deserts.
Resident in the savanna of southern New Guinea.
Local resident in the Lesser Sundas.
Open and semi-open country: parks, lawns, farmland, woodland edges, suburban yards. They forage on the ground in short grass.
No entrance hole, no front wall, just a sheltered ledge. Includes drainage and the integrated mounting tab.
Resident across most of Australia. Highly territorial, pairs defend nest sites year-round.