>Lalage leucopyga leucopyga (Norfolk Triller)

Norfolk Triller

Norfolk Triller
Illustration by Henrik Gronvold
Conservation status
Extinct (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. leucopyga
Subspecies:	L. l. leucopyga
Trinomial name
Lalage leucopyga leucopyga (Gould, 1838)

The Norfolk Triller (Lalage leucopyga leucopyga) was a small passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the Long-tailed Triller which was endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Little is known of its biology.

Description

Illustration by Georg Forster from the 1770s

The Norfolk Triller was similar to other subspecies of the Long-tailed Triller, though it was slightly larger and had a richer buff wash on the underparts and rump and a broader white tip to the outer rectrices.

Behaviour

Breeding

Breeding was recorded in September, with eggs in December and February. Nests were shallow and cup-shaped, made of lichen, moss and fibrous roots, and lined with finer material. The clutch was usually two eggs.

Extinction

The Triller was last recorded in 1942. The cause of its extinction was probably predation by Black Rats combined with clearance of its habitat, Norfolk Island’s native subtropical rainforest.

There are specimens of this bird held in the museums at Leiden, Vienna, Tring and in the H. L. White Collection at Melbourne.

>Lalage leucopyga (Long-tailed Triller)

Long-tailed Triller

Long-tailed Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. leucopyga
Binomial name
Lalage leucopyga (Gould, 1838)

The Long-tailed Triller (Lalage leucopyga) is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family.

It is found in New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The Norfolk Island subspecies of the Long-tailed Triller, the Norfolk Triller, has become extinct. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

>Lalage sharpei (Samoan Triller)

Samoan Triller

Samoan Triller
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. sharpei
Binomial name
Lalage sharpei Rothschild, 1900

The Samoan Triller (Lalage sharpei) is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family. It is endemic to Samoa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.

>Lalage maculosa (Polynesian Triller)

Polynesian Triller

Polynesian Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. maculosa
Binomial name
Lalage maculosa (Peale, 1848)

The Polynesian Triller (Lalage maculosa) is a passerine bird belonging to the triller genus Lalage in the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. It has numerous subspecies distributed across the islands of the south-west Pacific.

It is 15 to 16 cm long. The plumage varies geographically; some populations are contrastingly black and white while others have more grey or brown coloration.

It is a noisy bird with a nasal, rasping call. The song is short and high-pitched.

The breeding range extends through Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Wallis and Futuna, Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz Islands. It occurs in a wide variety of habitats including man-made habitats such as plantations and gardens. It feeds on insects such as caterpillars and also feeds on fruit.

The cup-shaped nest is placed in the fork of a tree branch. One or two eggs are laid; these are greenish with brown blotches.

ssp pumila, Abaca, Viti Levu, Fiji Isles

ssp woodi, Savusavu,Vanua Levu, Fiji Isles

>Lalage conjuncta (Mussau Triller)

Mussau Triller

Mussau Triller
Conservation status
Not recognized (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. conjuncta
Binomial name
Lalage conjuncta Rothschild & Hartert, 1924)

The Mussau Triller (Lalage conjuncta) is a smaller member of the Cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Varied Triller. It is found on the St Matthias Islands in the Bismarck Archipelago.

>Lalage leucomela (Varied Triller)

Varied Triller

Varied Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. leucomela
Binomial name
Lalage leucomela Vigors & Horsfield, 1827

Photographed at Dayboro, SE Queensland, Australia

The Varied Triller (Lalage leucomela) like its better-known relative the White-winged Triller, is a smaller member of the Cuckoo-shrike family, Campephagidae. Varied Trillers prefer warm, reasonably moist environments and are found in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, along much of the tropical and sub-tropical coastal hinterland of eastern Australia, from about the Sydney area to the tip of Cape York Peninsula, in the moister part of the Kimberley, and throughout the Top End.

Common to very common in the north, they are uncommon to rare in the colder south. Typical habitat is rainforest, vine forest, riverine thickets, eucalypt forest and woodland, with a particular preference for the border areas between closed and open forests.

Varied Trillers work their way slowly and methodically through foliage at any level (sometimes on the ground), searching in pairs or small groups for insects and fruit, and making repeated rolling contact calls almost continuously.

The Mussau Triller, L. conjuncta was formerly considered a subspecies.

 

Rush Creek, SE Queensland, Australia

>Lalage atrovirens (Black-browed Triller)

Black-browed Triller

Black-browed Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. atrovirens
Binomial name
Lalage atrovirens (Gray, 1862)

The Black-browed Triller (Lalage atrovirens) is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

>Lalage moesta (White-browed Triller)

White-browed Triller

White-browed Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. moesta
Binomial name
Lalage moesta Sclater, 1883

The White-browed Triller (Lalage moesta) is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.

>Lalage aurea (Rufous-bellied Triller)

Rufous-bellied Triller

Rufous-bellied Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. aurea
Binomial name
Lalage aurea (Temminck, 1827)

The Rufous-bellied Triller (Lalage aurea) is a species of bird in the Campephagidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

>Lalage tricolor (White-winged Triller)

White-winged Triller

White-winged Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. tricolor
Binomial name
Lalage tricolor (Swainson, 1825)

The White-winged Triller (Lalage tricolor) is one of the smaller members of the Cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It is found throughout mainland Australia and possibly on the islands to the north, including New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. It is resident or nomadic over the warmer part of its range (inland Australia and points north), and a summer breeding migrant to the cooler southern parts of Australia.

White-winged Trillers are fairly common in woodland, and open scrub through most of their range, and close to riverbeds in the central arid zone. The conspicuous male bird—black above and white below in breeding plumage—trills cheerfully through much of the day during the breeding season (mid-spring to early summer), frequently rising on fluttering wings in song flight.

The female is similarly patterned but in dull fawns and white. In the non-breeding season, male birds appear similar to the female, retaining blackish feathers only on the wings and tail.

Typically 16 to 18 cm long, White-winged Trillers eat a variety of insects, which are taken on the ground, from in foliage, or in the air.

The correct classification of the White-winged Triller and its close northern relative, the White-shouldered Triller (Lalage sueurii) of Eastern Indonesia is uncertain. Some authorities regard them as two races of a single species, in which case the White-winged Triller becomesLalage sueurii tricolor.

Media

Female White-winged Triller and a very well-camouflaged chick

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Song Samsonvale, SE Queensland, Australia

non-breeding male

>Lalage sueurii (White-shouldered Triller)

White-shouldered Triller

White-shouldered Triller
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Campephagidae
Genus:	Lalage
Species:	L. sueurii
Binomial name
Lalage sueurii (Vieillot, 1818)

The White-shouldered Triller (Lalage sueurii) is a passerine bird belonging to the triller genus Lalage in the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. It is found in Indonesia and East Timor. The White-winged Triller (L. tricolor) of Australia and New Guinea was formerly included in this species but is now treated as a separate species.

It is a fairly small bird, 17 centimetres in length. The bill is grey with a black tip and the legs and feet are black. The male is mainly black above and white below. It has a grey rump, white stripe over the eye, white wing-patches and white on the outer tail-feathers. Females have a similar pattern to the males but are brown instead of black above and have fine black barring on the underparts.

The Pied Triller is similar but is slightly smaller with a broader stripe above the eye and more white in the wing. The male White-winged Triller has no white stripe over the eye.

The song of the White-shouldered Triller is a metallic whistling which is sometimes given in flight. It also utters a rapid series of harsh notes.

It occurs in eastern Java, southern Sulawesi, Bali and on the Lesser Sunda Islands. It inhabits open woodland, savannas and agricultural land in dry, lowland areas. It feeds on insects, often swooping down from a perch to catch them on the ground.