Black-backed Butcherbird

Like other butcherbirds, the black-backed butcherbird is a stockily built bird with a relatively large head and short wings and legs. It is around 25 cm (10 in) long. Australian birds are smaller than those from New Guinea. Its plumage is predominantly black and white. It has a black head and lores, lower back and wings, with white nape, throat and underparts. The wings feathers are edged with white. The rump and base of tail are grey. The eyes are a dark brown, the legs grey and the bill a pale bluish grey tipped with black, with a prominent hook at the end. The plumage of the juvenile has an untidy brown and white plumage with the same general pattern as the adult, with a darker bill.

The black-backed butcherbird is found in Cape York Peninsula north of the Palmer River, and in the Trans-Fly region and vicinity of Port Moresby in New Guinea up to altitudes of 600 m (2000 ft). The habitat is savannah and open woodland.