Publication

Magpies Similar to the White-Backed Magpie in Inland Western Australia


Three females and one male of Gymnorhina recently collected near Wlluna, Western Australia are described. Two females are exactly like the White-backed Magpie G. hypoleuca leuconota. The other specimens are possibly hybrids between the Black-backed Magpie G. tibicen longirostris and the Western Magpie G. dorsalis, hybrids between longirostris and leuconota or hybrids between all three forms. The presence of leuconota or partly leuconota phenotypes may be caused by escaped pets introduced by pastoralists in mid-Western Australia or by leuconota having a range that extends westwards from Eyre Peninsula through the Nullarbor Plain and Great Victoria Desert. Alternatively, some hybrids betwen longirostris and dorsalis resemble leuconota.

>> Download Abstract | File Size: 63 KB
>> Download Complete PDF | File Size: 832 KB