The pied butcherbird  is a songbird native to Australia., it is a black and white bird 28 to 32 cm (11 to 12.5 in) long with a long hooked bill. The head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood, while the mantle, as are much of the tail and wings. The neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers are replaced by black feathers. Two subspecies are recognized.

Within its range, the pied butcherbird is generally sedentary. Common in woodlands and in urban environments, it is carnivorous, eating small vertebrates and insects. A tame and inquisitive bird, the pied butcherbird has been known to accept food from humans. It nests in trees, constructing a cup-shaped structure out of sticks and laying two to five eggs. The pied butcherbird engages in cooperative breeding, with a mated pair sometimes assisted by several helper birds. The troop is territorial, defending the nesting site from intruders. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the pied butcherbird as being of least concern on account of its large range and apparently stable population.

ike other butcherbirds, the pied butcherbird is stockily built with short legs and a relatively large head.[2] It ranges from 28 to 32 cm (11 to 12.5 in) long, averaging around 31 cm (12 in), with a 51 cm (20 in) wingspan and weight of around 120 g (4 oz).[17] The wings are fairly long, extending to half-way along the tail when folded.[11] Its plumage is almost wholly black and white, with very little difference between the sexes.[24] It has a black head, nape and throat, giving it the appearance of a black hood, which is bounded by a white neck collar,[25] which is around 3.2 cm (1 in) wide. The black hood is slightly glossy in bright light, can fade a little with age,[26] and is slightly duller and more brownish in the adult female. The neck collar in the female is slightly narrower at around 2.5 cm (1 in) and is a grey-white rather than white.[ Several stiff black bristles up to 1.5 cm (1 in) long arise from the lower lores. The upper mantle and a few of the front scapulars are white, contrasting sharply with the black lower mantle and the rest of the scapulars. The rump is pale grey, and the upper tail coverts are white. The tail is rather long, with a rounded or wedge-shaped tip. It has twelve retrices, which are black in colour.[24] The tail tip and outer wing feathers are white. The underparts are white. The eyes are a dark brown, the legs grey and the bill a pale bluish grey tipped with black,[27] with a prominent hook at the end.[2]

The juvenile pied butcherbird has dark brown instead of black plumage, lacks the pale collar and has a cream to buff lores, chin, and upper throat, becoming more brown on the lower throat and breast. Its underparts are off-white to cream.[24] The bill is dark brown.[28] In its first year, it moults into its first immature plumage, which resembles that of the juvenile, but has a more extensive dark brown throat. Its bill is blue-grey with a dark brown or blackish tip.[28]