---
title: "Magpie-lark"
description: "Grallina cyanoleuca — Birds. The magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), also known as wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor, and southern New Guinea."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/magpie-lark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Magpie-lark

> Grallina cyanoleuca — Birds. The magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), also known as  wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor, and southern New Guinea.

- Scientific name: *Grallina cyanoleuca*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 30228
- Wikidata: [Q1190650](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1190650)
- iNaturalist taxon: [8583](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/8583)

## Names

- en: Magpie-lark
- de: Drosselstelze
- es: Grallina australiana
- fr: Gralline pie
- nl: Australische slijkekster
- pt: Pega cotovia
- pl: Gralina srokata

## Countries with the most observations

AU (29474)

## Summary

The magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), also known as  wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor, and southern New Guinea. The male and female both have black and white plumage, though with different patterns. John Latham described the species in 1801. Long thought to be a member of the mudnest builder family Corcoracidae, it has been reclassified in the family Monarchidae (the monarch flycatchers). Two subspecies are recognized.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie-lark

## Photo

![Magpie-lark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/magpie-lark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Barb · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/144406832

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/magpie-lark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).