Pied Currawong
Semi-permanent urban populations of the Pied
Currawong (Strepera graculina) have increased
substantially over the past three decades
(Major 2003). Populations may have increased
during the reporting period, but further research is
needed to tell whether this is a prime factor in the
decline of small bush birds. A large-scale nest
predation experiment, conducted Australia-wide by
Major et al. (1996), found evidence to suggest Pied
Currawongs were a major threat to small birds in
urban environments. Another study (Fulton and
Ford 2001) considered this species to be a
significant predator in rural woodland fragments. A
pair of Currawongs may kill 40 broods of small
birds to raise a brood of their own (Major 2003).
