Description
White-winged Choughs are easily recognised but often mistaken for "crows"—a double mistake, as the birds most frequently called "crows" in Australia are actually ravens (see Australian Raven and Little Raven). The White-winged Chough is a large, black bird—at about 45 cm (18 in) only a little smaller than a raven or a little larger than an Australian Magpie—but has red eyes and a finer, slightly down-curved beak, similar to a European Chough. These red eyes become swollen and brighter in colour when the bird is excited. In flight the large white patches in the wings are immediately obvious, and explain the descriptive part of their common name.
Their calls consist primarily of a grating alarm call and a descending piping call. The latter call is diagnostic for the bird in the wild, being significantly different in timbre and melody to that of other birds sharing their habitat.
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