September 3, 2025 - Gray Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus)
Found in southern and parts of central Australia, these butcherbirds live in forests, savannas, shrublands, and cultivated areas. They eat invertebrates, small vertebrates, and some fruit, seeds, and nectar, hunting from perches before dropping onto prey on the ground or capturing it in short flights. Pairs build shallow bowl-shaped nests from thin twigs, grass, rootlets, hair, and other materials in trees. Females lay clutches of three or four eggs and incubate them alone. Both parents feed the chicks, sometimes assisted by a helper which is generally one of their chicks from a previous brood.