NOTES ON THE LESSER WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE
(GYMNORHINA HYPERLEUCA) IN TASMANIA
By Frank M. Littler, M.A.O.U.
To the majority of people in Tasmania this bird is simply known under the name of "Magpie." In the districts it frequents it is the best known of birds after the ubiquitous House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). It is restricted to certain parts of the island; on the colder and wetter parts of the west coast it is a complete stranger; some efforts, however, have been made to introduce the bird there.
Our Magpie is peculiar to Tasmania, not even being found on any of the islands in Bass Strait. On the mainland of Australia its nearest relation is the Black-backed Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), which has a fairly extensive range, and is the larger bird of the two. There is some slight difference in the colouring of the sexes. In the male the whole of the under surface, head, and cheeks are a beautiful glossy black; the rest of the plumage is white; bill, horn-colour; legs and feet black.
The male bird is a really handsome fellow in the nesting season. He is often to be seen perched on a rail with beak uplifted and chest swelled to the fullest, pouring forth his joyous and melodious song to his mate, who is busy hunting for grubs on the ground close by. How bright and intelligent his eyes are, full of worldly wisdom and cunning, well suited to help their possessor on life's rough path. To the casual observer the most conspicuous difference in the plumage of the female is that the under surface is more of a grey than a black, and the upper surface is very dingy compared with that of the male.
The nest is open and bowl-shaped; sticks and twigs and some strips of eucalypt bark constitute the main items in its composition; the inside lining consists principally of grass stems and shredded bark. The situation usually chosen is in the forked branches of an eucalypt, generally some distance from the ground.
