Piping Shrikes Poem by Francis Duggan

They sing every day and twelve months of the year
The flutes of the magpies so pleasant to hear
They sing in the paddocks and woods and the parks of every village and town
The Aussie magpies or piping shrikes of songbird renown
From late Winter to mid Spring they sing in the night
They do pipe their finest in the faint moonlight
'Tis not for joy but for defence of territory they do sing
On nights in late winter and the early Spring
The magpie sized black and white piping shrikes of Australia the songsters supreme
In their songs the males carry their self esteem
By sight and by sound birds one should not mistake
They sing in the darkness long before daybreak
The piping shrikes of Australia so melodious and clear
They sing in all Seasons and all through the year.