![]() ![]() The white-backed forms predominate except in Hawke’s Bay and North Canterbury, where black-backed birds make up around 95% of the population. It is uncommon in Nelson and inland Marlborough, and is largely absent from Westland, except for the area between Harihari and Westport. In the South Island it is most common from Kaikoura to Southland. ![]() The magpie is found throughout the North Island. Similar species: with its large size and strikingly pied plumage, the Australian magpie is not readily confused with any other species. Voice: both sexes have a distinctive carolling song “quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle”. The two subspecies interbreed, resulting in offspring with a varying amount of black on the mantle, ranging from a few feathers to a narrow band. The female can be identified by the presence of some grey on the lower hind-neck. The black-backed magpie is similar to the white-backed forms, but with a black mantle. The juvenile is mottled grey on the under-surface. Some white appears on the mantle after the third moult, and the remainder after the fourth moult. The male takes several years to attain full adult plumage after the second moult it resembles an adult female. Both sexes have a blue-grey bill with a dark tip, and red eyes. The female is similar, but the mantle is grey, and the black parts of the plumage are less iridescent. The rest of the plumage is black, with a blue iridescence. The upper two-thirds of the tail and under-tail coverts are also white. The male has a white hind-neck, mantle, rump and shoulder patches. The white-backed form tyrannica is the largest of the sub-species. This familiar large songbird is similar in size to a crow or a New Zealand pigeon. Some authorities group the Australian magpie with butcherbirds in the genus Cracticus. There are three subspecies the black-backed, and two white-backed forms, with white-backed birds predominating in most parts of New Zealand. It was introduced from Australia and Tasmania by Acclimatisation Societies between 18, mainly to control insect pests. The black-and-white Australian magpie is a common and conspicuous inhabitant of open country throughout much of New Zealand. ![]()
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