 Because the name "piping shrike" is not used to identify any bird, there has been some confusion over what bird it represents.While some think it resembles the magpie-lark ("Grallina cyanoleuca"), the original reports specify that it is based on the Australian magpie, and government sources specify the subspecies as the white-backed magpie ("Gymnorhina tibicen leuconota").The connection of this bird to the name "piping shrike" can be seen in this early observation by explorer Charles Sturt in the 1840s