Artamids are a diverse family showing a notable variation in size and shape.
They range in size from the short stocky Fiji woodswallow Artamus mentalis and the Ashy woodswallow Artamus fuscus, both of which are around 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in length and weigh about 40 grams (1.4 oz), to the larger grey currawong Strepera versicolour, which measures up to 50 cm (20 in) and weighs up to 440 g (16 oz).

The beaks of artamids are strong and robust, sometimes known as a generalist beak.
Like falcons, some of the subfamily Cracticinae possess a sharp projection along the upper mandible, with a corresponding notch on the lower mandible.
 This hook-like tooth is used to catch and fatally sever the bodies of insects, lizards and small mammals.
A trait of artamids (and all passerines) is that it possesses an anisodactyl foot arrangement: three toes are directed forward and one toe directed backward, enabling them to perch on horizontal objects such as tree branches and power lines.

Because they possess a syrinx, Artamids, in particular the pied butcherbird, the pied currawong and the Australian magpie, are able to create subtle songs.
Uniquely among other perching birds, some woodswallows possess special feathers called powder down.
 The tips of the barbules on powder down feathers disintegrate, forming fine particles of keratin, which appear as a powder, or "feather dust", among the feathers and spread when preening.

The plumage of the Artamids is relatively dull, most birds showing a combination of greys, earthy browns, blacks and patches of white.
There is seldom sexual dimorphism in plumage, but when it occurs the males are brighter and the females appear dull or resemble juveniles.
In many species juveniles have a distinctly duller plumage.

The notarium, a fused vertebra of the shoulder in birds that helps brace the chest against the forces generated by the wings, is a distinctive osteological trait that has evolved repeatedly in the passerines including the family Artamadae.
Artamids are a diverse family showing a notable variation in size and shape. They range in size from the short stocky Fiji woodswallow Artamus mentalis and the Ashy woodswallow Artamus fuscus, both of which are around 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in length and weigh about 40 grams (1.4 oz), to the larger grey currawong Strepera versicolour, which measures up to 50 cm (20 in) and weighs up to 440 g (16 oz).
The beaks of artamids are strong and robust, sometimes known as a generalist beak. Like falcons, some of the subfamily Cracticinae possess a sharp projection along the upper mandible, with a corresponding notch on the lower mandible.  This hook-like tooth is used to catch and fatally sever the bodies of insects, lizards and small mammals. A trait of artamids (and all passerines) is that it possesses an anisodactyl foot arrangement: three toes are directed forward and one toe directed backward, enabling them to perch on horizontal objects such as tree branches and power lines.
Because they possess a syrinx, Artamids, in particular the pied butcherbird, the pied currawong and the Australian magpie, are able to create subtle songs. Uniquely among other perching birds, some woodswallows possess special feathers called powder down.  The tips of the barbules on powder down feathers disintegrate, forming fine particles of keratin, which appear as a powder, or "feather dust", among the feathers and spread when preening.
The plumage of the Artamids is relatively dull, most birds showing a combination of greys, earthy browns, blacks and patches of white. There is seldom sexual dimorphism in plumage, but when it occurs the males are brighter and the females appear dull or resemble juveniles. In many species juveniles have a distinctly duller plumage.
The notarium, a fused vertebra of the shoulder in birds that helps brace the chest against the forces generated by the wings, is a distinctive osteological trait that has evolved repeatedly in the passerines including the family Artamadae.
Artamidae