AUSTRALIA is noted for its diverse array of bush birds, many of which are superb songsters.

Perhaps one of the finest voices is the fluted piping of the Pied Butcherbird – its rich notes ringing through the early morning air to signal their territory.

Both males and females give this distinctive call, often as an antiphonal duet given from a high perch.

The birds stand with their heads thrown back, bowing forwards and stretching with the flow of melodious notes.

Pied Butcherbirds occur over much of mainland Australia, being more common in the northern and central parts of their range, only reaching the northernmost regions of Victoria associated with the Murray Valley and surrounding floodplains.

For this reason, one of its alternative names is the Murray Magpie.

They inhabit open woodlands, especially around forest margins and in scattered remnant woodland patches amongst farmland.

Grassy box woodlands, sometimes with a mix of Buloke, and dry red gum woodlands are preferred in North East Victoria, being most common on the plains country north of places such as Wangaratta, Springhurst and Chiltern.

Typically, Pied Butcherbirds are seen singly or in pairs, or in small family parties following breeding.

They are predatory by nature and as such, they are often mobbed by smaller birds such as Willie Wagtails, honeyeaters and woodswallows, who attempt to drive butcherbirds away, especially from their nesting areas.

Pied Butcherbirds readily prey on small birds and their eggs and chicks, as well as small reptiles, mice and large invertebrates such as cicadas.

They often sit watchfully on an exposed branch or post, then swoop down to seize prey on the ground, on logs or rocks, and sometimes from tree trunks.

Pairs often hunt together, with one bird chasing and the other backing up.

Prey too large to swallow is dismembered by their powerful hooked bill, sometimes by wedging the food item in the fork of a tree or impaled on a sharp stick.

Food may also be temporarily stored in this manner, with the butcherbirds returning to cached food after its placement.