Black-and-white Triller
Lalage melanoleuca
A medium-sized bird of lowland and foothill forest canopy. Has a black tail with white corners, black wings with a large white patch, and a white rump. Male has a black crown and back and entirely white underparts. Females have a gray crown and back. Northern females have white underparts with a barred throat and chest, while southern females have a gray throat and chest with faint barring below. Similar to Pied Triller, but lacks the white brow and is found in forest rather than open habitats. Song consists of a 1- to 3-syllabled whistled phrase repeated 5-20 times in a row.
Identification
Medium, sexes differ, races vary in size and extent of gray in lower back in male, or relative darkness of the grey in female. in melanoleuca female top of head, upper back, most of tail and wing black glossed with green; center of black gray; rump, tips of outer tail feathers, median wing coverts, edges of greater coverts and secondaries (all forming a broad white wing bar), inner edges to primaries, underwing and underparts pure white. female differs by having head and upper back light gray, rump and underparts grayish white finely barred with darker gray; undertail coverts white; bill black; eye dark brown; legs dark grayish black.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lalage melanoleuca
- Authority
- (Blyth, 1861)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Lalage
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
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