Australian Magpie
Gymnorhina tibicen
While the European and Australian Magpies might now only be superficially similar, it's likely that they shared a common ancestor tens of millions of years ago - most endemic Australian passerines are thought to have been decended from a corvid ancestor. The Australian Magpie is very much more musical than the squawking and rattling of it's European namesake. This bird is of the race tibicen, which has a black back.
The next two are of the race tyrannicae, which is part of the white-backed group of subspecies. The first is an adult male, the second a juvenile. Birds from black-backed races can sometimes show a white back due to recessive genes.
1: Camperdown Campus, University of Sydney, 03/09/2009.
2: Monash University, 19/03/2010.
3: Monash University, 17/03/2010.
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