Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Black-faced cuckoo-shrike is a slim grey Australian vagrant with a black facial mask and undulating flight. Grey body, black face and throat, long wings and a habit of shuffling the wings on landing distinguish it from kōkako and magpies.

New Zealand records are rare and scattered, usually involving birds that cross the Tasman from Australia. It catches large insects in foliage or air and also eats fruit, moving between prominent perches in open woodland.

There is no predictable site; sightings are exceptional in open country or coastal migrant traps.