Bird Album
Great Woodswallow
Artamus maximus Meyer, AB, 1874
20 cmLength58 gWeight
The great woodswallow (Artamus maximus), also known as the greater woodswallow, giant woodswallow or New Guinea woodswallow, is a species of bird in the family Artamidae.
Busiest months: July–August · Most records: Papua New Guinea
Where and when it's recorded
Great Woodswallow has been recorded at 18 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 1 country or region.
Records by month Southern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Ambua LodgePapua New Guinea337 records
- Tari GapPapua New Guinea110 records
- Highlands Hwy – above Ambua Lodge to Tari GapPapua New Guinea104 records
More places
- Kumul LodgePapua New Guinea93 records
- Tabubil AreaPapua New Guinea86 records
- Dablin Creek RoadPapua New Guinea44 records
- Ok Menga Hydro IntakePapua New Guinea31 records
- Rondon Ridge LodgePapua New Guinea29 records
- Tomba & Murmur Pass [2400-2800m]Papua New Guinea27 records
- Mt Komonge RidgePapua New Guinea24 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The great woodswallow (Artamus maximus), also known as the greater woodswallow, giant woodswallow or New Guinea woodswallow, is a species of bird in the family Artamidae. The great woodswallow is very similar in appearance to the more widespread white-breasted woodswallow, but it can be distinguished by its darker black upper side plumage and by the presence of a semi-oval black patch below the throat.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Great Woodswallow?
The Great Woodswallow is about 20 cm long and weighs around 58 g.
Where does the Great Woodswallow live?
Its breeding range: Australasia: montane New Guinea. It is most often recorded in Papua New Guinea.
When is the best time to see the Great Woodswallow?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July and August (Southern Hemisphere).
Is the Great Woodswallow endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Great Woodswallow as Least Concern.
What does the Great Woodswallow eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Great Woodswallow in?
It belongs to the family Woodswallows, Butcherbirds & Allies (Artamidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 20 cm
- Weight
- 58 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Feeds in the air
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 159 mm
- Tail
- 66 mm
- Bill
- 26 mm
- Tarsus
- 20 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Australasia: montane New Guinea
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Woodswallows, Butcherbirds & Allies Artamidae
- Genus
- Artamus
Other birds in the genus Artamus
Ashy WoodswallowArtamus fuscus
White-breasted WoodswallowArtamus leucorynchus
Fiji WoodswallowArtamus mentalis
Ivory-backed WoodswallowArtamus monachus
White-backed WoodswallowArtamus insignis
Masked WoodswallowArtamus personatus
White-browed WoodswallowArtamus superciliosus
Black-faced WoodswallowArtamus cinereus
Dusky WoodswallowArtamus cyanopterus
Little WoodswallowArtamus minor
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Markus Lilje. ↗
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