Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes are often called Shufflewings, because they flip their wings up and down a little each time they land. I hear the birds calling often while walking in the bush, and see them sometimes too. Usually, though, they’re high in the treetops and difficult to spot. It’s been a long-time ambition of mine to catch a video of one doing the wing-shuffle.

Today was my lucky day. Not only did I film the wing-shuffle of an adult Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, but I also saw a juvenile being fed by adults. The birds were quite low down in a Casuarina tree, probably because that’s where the youngster landed after emerging from its nest.

In the first video, an adult bird lands next to the youngster and feeds it a parcel of food before flying off to a higher branch. The adult sits up high for a while, holding another tasty morsel in its beak. Adult and child trill softly to each other. The adult then drops down and feeds the little one again. When it lands on another branch, it does one of its characteristic wing-shuffles.

The second video starts with an adult bird carrying some food in its beak. The bird visits the youngster, passes over the food and hangs around for a short time, then flies off. The youngster takes some time to swallow the food, while gazing around and calling for the next morsel.

Here’s a still picture of the young bird:

The youngster again, from a different angle:

Here’s the adult, posed neatly against a blue sky:

Despite their name, Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes aren’t shrikes, nor even cuckoos. Evidently they acquired the name because their beaks have the same hooked end as a shrike’s and their feathers have similar patterns to some cuckoos.

These are beautiful, graceful birds to see and hear. I’ve posted descriptions of other Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes that I’ve spotted over time.

Common name: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, also called a Shufflewing
Scientific name: Coracina novaehollandiae
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: 22 December 2023 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’53.2″S 151°15’08.0″E