Gray Butcherbird

1. The distinctive black "hood" with sharp contrast to white throat and incomplete white collar.

2. Listen for their beautiful, rich piping song that includes both musical notes and harsher sounds.

3. Watch for their hunting technique – perching still before swooping down on prey.

These clever hunters store excess food in tree forks or impale it on thorns – giving them their name. They breed from July to January, with both parents building stick nests and raising young. Family groups often stay together for a year, with older siblings sometimes helping to raise the next season's chicks. Their complex social structure includes coordinated family singing.

Grey Butcherbirds range across southern Australia, including Tasmania, reaching up to mid-eastern Queensland and northern Western Australia. They are absent from central deserts. Look for them perched conspicuously on open branches in wooded habitats, from eucalypt forests to leafy suburbs with mature trees. Dawn and dusk are prime times to hear their melodious calls. They often return to favourite hunting perches, so if you spot one, stay put – they'll likely return after catching prey.