Ashy Woodswallow

Overview

The ashy woodswallow (Artamus fuscus) is a stocky bird found in South Asia, also known as the ashy swallow-shrike. It belongs to the woodswallow group and is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Ashy grey upperparts with a darker head and a narrow pale band on the rump.
• Pinkish grey underparts and a short slaty black tail tipped in white.
• Silvery finch-like bill, short legs, and long wings that appear very broad at the base in flight, creating a triangular outline.
• Young birds appear barred on the underside, while adults show no geographic variation in plumage.

Habitat

Found in South Asia across plains up to 2,000 metres, including cultivated areas, forest clearings, and regions with tall palm trees. Widely distributed in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia, and China, though absent from very arid regions of western India and occasionally recorded in Maldives.

Diet

Mainly insectivorous, capturing prey in the air from high perches such as powerlines and bare trees. They may hold insects in their feet to tear and swallow them, and occasionally consume nectar from trees like Erythrina.

Did you know?

These birds have special feathers called powder down that break up into fine dust during preening, a trait shared with only a few other perching birds like egrets. They are also known to feed on toxic butterflies of the family Danaiidae, such as Euploea core, which other birds tend to avoid.