Grey Currawong - Behaviour

Behaviour

Overall, data on the social behaviour of the Grey Currawong is lacking, and roosting habits are unknown. It is generally shyer and more wary than its Pied relative, but has become more accustomed to people in areas of high human activity in southwest Western Australia. Its undulating flight is rapid and silent. It hops or runs when on the ground. Birds are generally encountered singly or in pairs, but may forage in groups of three to eleven birds. Up to forty birds may gather to harvest a fruit tree if one is found. The Black-winged subspecies is seldom seen in groups larger than four or five, while the Clinking Currawong may form groups of up to forty birds over the non-breeding season.

There is some evidence of territoriality, as birds in the Wheatbelt maintain territories year-round there. The Grey Currawong has been recorded harassing larger birds such as the Wedge-tailed Eagle, Square-tailed Kite and Australian Hobby. The species has been observed bathing by shaking its wings in water at ponds, as well as applying clay to its plumage after washing.

Two species of chewing louse have been isolated and described from Grey Currawongs: (Menacanthus dennisi) from subspecies halmaturina on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, and Australophilopterus strepericus from subspecies arguta near Launceston in Tasmania. A new species of spirurian nematode, Microtetrameres streperae isolated from a Grey Currawong at Waikerie was described in 1977.