White-winged Triller

Overview

The white-winged triller (Lalage tricolor) is a smaller member of the cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae, found throughout mainland Australia and possibly on islands to the north, including New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. It is resident or nomadic over the warmer part of its range and acts as a summer breeding migrant to cooler southern Australia.

Identification

• Typically 16 to 18 cm long, with breeding males being black above and white below, while females and non-breeding males appear in dull fawn and white, with males retaining blackish feathers only on the wings and tail.
• The conspicuous male trills cheerfully throughout the day during the breeding season, frequently rising on fluttering wings in song flight.

Habitat

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. They are resident or nomadic in inland Australia and points north, and migrate to the cooler southern parts of Australia for summer breeding.

Diet

White-winged trillers eat a variety of insects, which are taken on the ground, from foliage, or in the air.

Did you know?

The Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay people of northern New South Wales use the onomatopoeic name wiigurrun.gurrun to refer to this species.