Black-faced woodswallow

Description

The black-faced woodswallow is 18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in) in length,and weighs 32–40 g (1.1–1.4 oz).It has a blue-grey beak with a black tip and a black face mask which extends from the base of the bill up to and around the eyes.It has ash grey plumage,which is lighter around the breast with darker wings,and silver underwings.It has a black tail with a white tip.There are four different subspecies of back faced wood swallows.These are differentiated by black or white colouration of their tail vents.The white-vented subspecies A.c.normani and A.c.dealbatus are found on the Cape York Peninsula and northern Queensland respectively.The black-vented A.c.cinereus occurs in south west Australia,while A.c.melanops occurs in northern Australia and Lesser Sunda Islands,including Timor.The sexes are similar in colouration..The juvenile has a brown body and wing coloration with buff streaks and a pale yellow beak.The voice is soft with chiff,chap and chattering animated calls which can include vocal mimicry.