The piping shrike proudly sits on our South Australian flag as our state emblem.

It happily irritates many South Aussies in an advertisement for a local bank.

But, does the bird actually exist?

A simple question from ABC Radio ADELAIDE listener Bob at Athlestone, about whether the piping shrike was a relation of the magpie, revealed this somewhat shocking news.

The piping shrike is not a real bird.

The bird symbol on our state flag is a stylised image of the white-backed magpie, or in Latin, a gymnorhina tibicen leuconota.

This image is what we call the piping shrike.

But the piping shrike itself, does not exist.

Sonya Feldhoff spoke to author of 'The Australian Magpie' Gisela Kaplan, a Professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of New England.

When asked about the piping shrike, the professor had no idea what it was.

John Vaughan, the national spokesperson of the Australian National Flag Association, says in heraldry for flags and coats of arms, individuals are given the opportunity of interpreting design, and the image doesn't need to be a completely accurate representation.

So the image we know as the piping shrike, is an interpretation of the white-backed magpie.

Have a listen to how the conversation, and confusion, played out.