Pied Triller
Lalage nigra
Handsome bird which looks like a slender thrush. Black-and-white male is distinctive, with a white brow, extensive white wing patches, and clean white underparts. Female and juvenile are grungier-looking, with gray-brown replacing much of the black and rather dingy, dirty-looking underparts. Inhabits lowland and foothill forests, parks, and gardens. Contrary to its name, this bird does not usually trill; rather, it gives a range of low notes, particularly a nasal “checka-checkuh” and a rapid series of rattling, clacking, or whistled notes.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description and an illustration of the pied triller in the second volume of his Ornithologie based on a specimen that had been collected in the East Indies. He used the French name Le Merle des Indes and the Latin name Merula Indica. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. In a section of a book by Johann Reinhold Forster published in 1781 the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant coined the binomial name Turdus niger for the pied triller and cited Brisson's work. In 1922 the type location was restricted to Singapore by the American zoologist Outram Bangs. The pied triller is now one of 20 species placed in the genus Lalage that was introduced in 1826 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Lalage nigra
- Authority
- (Pennant, 1781)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Lalage
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-crowned Robin-Chat
Cossypha albicapillus
A large and colorful robin-chat with a black face mask that continues onto the chin. The color of the crown is pure white in the far western part of the range, and white with black markings elsewhere. A shy bird of dense thickets, gardens, and forest, often along rivers and streams. Similar to Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, but larger, usually with black markings in the white crown, and with a black rather than orange chin. Usually detected by song, a fast and complex mix of musical whistles.
Hylocitrea
Hylocitrea bonensis
A dull-colored, whistler-like songbird confined to Sulawesi. Mostly dull green with red eyes, a grayish underside, yellowish flanks, and a rusty base to the undertail. Females show throat streaking that is absent in males; the streaks are white in the southwest and yellowish in the north. Juveniles have an olive-brown head and buff-striped olive underparts. Singles and pairs occupy the subcanopy of montane forest. Separated from female Maroon-backed Whistler by yellow flanks, red eye, slim pointed bill, and tendency to sit high in the trees. Calls include a high-pitched thrush-like “tsip” and a nasal “jheeze.” Song comprises very high-pitched, twittering whistles.
Flightless Cormorant
Nannopterum harrisi
Brown, aquatic bird with brilliant blue eyes. Tiny, stunted wings look almost comical and seem out-of-place on such a large bird. Endemic to Galápagos (where it is the only cormorant), and restricted to rocky coastlines of Isabela and Fernandina islands. Breeds throughout the year in small colonies. Often seen carrying large clumps of seaweed, which it uses to build its nest.
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