IUCN Least Concern (LC)
Dusky Woodswallow
Artamus cyanopterus
The Dusky Woodswallow moves in flocks of 10 to 30 birds, which cluster together to roost. The Dusky Woodswallow has a distinctive white patch on the outer wing. It tends to be more smoky brown than most of the other woodswallows.
The Dusky Woodswallow is a smoky deep brown to grey bird. The wings are dark blue-grey, edged white, the tail is black with a broad white tip and the underwings are silvery-white. The bill is blue-tipped black and the eye is dark brown. Young birds are grey-brown, streaked and mottled buff to cream.
Brassy chirrups and chirps: ‘vut vut’; also harsh chattering and some mimicry. Bird call recorded by: Fred Van Gessel
The main song & call.
Credits to the owner/recorder.
The Dusky Woodswallow is found in open forests and woodlands and may be seen along roadsides and on golf courses.
Distribution map
Dusky Woodswallows swivel their tails in a ‘tail wag’ that is typical of the whole woodswallow group.
The Dusky Woodswallow feeds on insects taken on the wing, as well as from foliage and on the ground. It also eats nectar from flowers.
The Dusky Woodswallow nests colonially in ‘neighbourhoods’. The nest is a loose bowl of twigs, grass and roots, lined with fine grass, and is placed in a tree fork, behind bark, in a stump hollow or in a fence post, about 1 m – 10 m above the ground. Each pair builds the nest, incubates the eggs and feeds the young.
IUCN status reflects the conservation status of this species globally.
