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General Information
 Description: The Mud lark is marked in black and white like the
Magpie and Mud Larks are often called "Magpie Larks" because of their
similarity. It has a thin white bill and pale eyes which distinguish it from
similar birds. The adult male Mud Lark has a black face and white eyebrow
and the female has an all-white face with no white eyebrow. Young birds have
a black forehead, a white eyebrow and a white throat. Mud larks have
no relationship to either Magpies or Larks but are often confused for
Magpies. Mud Larks grow from 26 to 30 cm while Magpies are quite bigger
growing from 38 to 44 cm.
Voice: Mud Larks are commonly called "Peewees" because of the
'pee-o-wit' or 'pee-wee' call it frequently gives as a duet, each bird
raising its wings in turn.
Habitat: Mud
Larks are only found in Australasia, and are found all over Australia but
only rarely in Tasmania. They are also found in southern New Guinea and
Timor. Mud Larks live in most types of countryside except
rainforests and the driest deserts and are often seen in suburban back yards
and parks. Non-breeding and young birds form large flocks which move from
place to place and can be made up of several thousand birds, which move
north in Autumn/Winter and south in Spring/Summer with the Seasons.
 Food: The
Mud Lark lives on the ground and is mostly seen looking in the grass for insects and
their larvae as well as earthworms and freshwater animals. They appear on
our lawns searching for lawn grubs and other insects living on the ground.
Breeding:
Mud Larks get their name from the fact that they build an unusual mud nest.
Both the male and female help build the nest which is made of wet mud,
gathered to construct a bowl-shaped nest on a horizontal branch, or similar
site, often up to 20 m above the ground during the breeding season . The
birds line the bowl with feathers and grasses and both male and female birds
often sit side by side and call alternately, each raising and lowering their
wings as they do so. They aggressively defend their nest and territory,
which may occupy up to 10 ha. Both parents help hatch the chicks and care
for the three to five young. Sometimes more than one brood may be reared in
a year if the conditions are right.
Reference:
Some information - Australian Museum Fact Sheet
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/magpie_lark.htm
Photos -
©
G. Crew, 2003
Some information and pictures were taken from children's charts and
where credited to that child does not claim to be original information.
Where possible, permission to reproduce has been sought and ownership
credited. Any infringement of copyright is purely unintentional and
ownership of pictures and information used is freely acknowledged.
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