Great Woodswallow
Artamus maximus A. B. Meyer, 1874
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.
Great Woodswallow (Artamus maximus)
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Open encyclopedia reference
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. As its name implies, it is the largest member of the genus Artamus, averaging 20 centimetres (7.87 in) in length and 61 grams (2.2 oz) in mass. 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Great woodswallow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:26:41.639632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Artamus maximus A. B. Meyer, 1874
- Name authority
- A. B. Meyer, 1874
- Common name
- Great 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 maximus A. B. Meyer, 1874
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Little WoodswallowArtamus minor Vieillot, 1817 | ArtamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-faced WoodswallowArtamus cinereus Vieillot, 1817 | 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=558763 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.
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:GVGS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.