Little Woodswallow
Artamus minor Vieillot, 1817
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The little woodswallow (Artamus minor), is a bird patchily distributed over much of mainland Australia, avoiding only the driest deserts and the area within about 300 kilometres of the southern coastline, and showing a preference for rugged terrain around inland ranges. As its name suggests, at 12 to 14 cm in length it is the smallest of the woodswallows. It is dark, smoky brown overall, with deep gunmetal grey wings and a black-tipped, blue-tinged bill. Like other woodswallows, groups cluster huddled close together on high, dead branches to rest or sleep. Typical group sizes are modest but it is not uncommon to have hundreds gather together at a roost site. Little woodswallows soar effortlessly above the treetops or along cliff faces when hunting flying insects—being small, they are easily confused with martins. The nest is a rudimentary affair, placed in a tree hollow or similar space, and made of twigs and other vegetable matter. Breeding takes place from August to January, or after rain.
Wikipedia contributors, Little woodswallow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:14:20.866822+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Artamus minor Vieillot, 1817
- Name authority
- Vieillot, 1817
- Common name
- Little Woodswallow
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Artamidae
- Genus
- Artamus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyArtamidae Vigors, 1825
- genusArtamus Vieillot, 1816
- speciesArtamus minor Vieillot, 1817
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Artamus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-faced WoodswallowArtamus cinereus Vieillot, 1817 | ArtamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great WoodswallowArtamus maximus A. B. Meyer, 1874 | ArtamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fiji WoodswallowArtamus mentalis Jardine, 1845 | ArtamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-browed WoodswallowArtamus superciliosus (Gould, 1837) | ArtamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=558765 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:67SKK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.