Well if you look at the bird actually depicted on the flag, it is not a
white backed magpie because it isn't uniformly black underneath. It isn't a
great representation of a magpie-lark either (no white eyebrow, and only
white flecks on the wings rather than fully white underwings,) but it's
closer than to a magpie. Or to a Pied butcherbird, which has the black hood
but even more white underwing.
Basically whoever designed the flag was no John Gould.
-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
Martin Butterfield
Sent: Friday, 14 August 2015 8:58 AM
To: Doug Holly
Cc: Birding Aus
Subject: Piping Shrike is South Aus emblemic bird
I had assumed that the need for editing suggested by Carl was due to the
reference to the *real* vernacular name of *Grallina cyanoleuca*, which is
Murray Magpie. No-one in South Australia would dream of calling these birds
such odd names as Peewee (a North American flycatcher) or Mudlark (a game of
Rugby in damp conditions) and only serious birders would use .Magpie Lark.
Martin
Martin Butterfield
http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/
On 14 August 2015 at 08:48, Doug Holly <> wrote:
> There has always been confusion over this name because Piping Shrike
> was used as the name of the White-backed Magpie when the South Aust
> constitution was written.
>
>
>
>
> Identification of the birdEdit
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_shrike#/editor/2>
>
>
> Because the name piping shrike is not used to identify any bird, there
> has been some confusion over what bird it represents. While some think
> it resembles the Murray magpie
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark>
> (Grallina cyanoleuca), the original reports specify that it is based
> on the Australian magpie
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_magpie> ,
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_shrike#cite_note-SMHGovernor-1
> >
> [1]
> and government sources specify the subspecies as the white-backed
> magpie (Cracticus tibicen telonocua formerly Gymnorhina tibicen
leuconota).
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_shrike#cite_note-4> [4] The
> connection of this bird to the name piping shrike can be seen in this
> early observation by explorer Charles Sturt
> <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sturt> in the 1840s:
>
> "GYMNORHINA LEUCONOTA GOULD., The White-backed Crow Shrike. This bird
> is somewhat larger than, and very much resembles a magpie, but the
> proportion of white is greater, and there is no metallic or varied
> tint on the black feathers as on the European bird. In South Australia
> it is a winter bird, and his clear fine note was always the most heard
> on the coldest morning, as if that temperature best suited him. All
> the species of this genus are easily domesticated, and learn to pipe
> tunes. They are mischievous birds about a house, but are useful in a
> garden. I had one that ranged the fields to a great distance round the
> house, but always returned to sleep in it."
>
>
>
>
>
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