White-winged Triller
Lalage tricolor· 鹃鵙科(1 photos)
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White-winged Triller
16-18.5 cm. Male: glossy black to below eye; pure white below; white shoulders, white edges to wing coverts form netted pattern; lower back/rump grey; tail black with white corners. Male eclipse (March-Aug.): like greyish female with black wings/tail, grey rump. Female: pale brown above, dark line through eye, slight pale eyebrow; buff edges to wing feathers form netted pattern; underparts washed brown. Immature: buffer, with scaled pattern. Singles, pairs, small flocks: flight graceful, undulating. Courting males fly slowly over territory, singing, with spread wings/tails. Forages in foliage, ground; hovers; takes nectar.
- Similar Species
- Varied Triller, Rufous Songlark.
- Voice
- clear, descending 'chiff-chiff-joey-joey-joey'; canary-like trill.
- Habitat
- open forests/woodlands/scrublands; watercourses.
- Breeding
- Aug.-March.
- Nest
- shallow cup of grass, rootlets, bark, spiders' web; on horizontal branch/fork, 1-20 m high; near nests of other black/white birds.
- Eggs
- 2-3; green, streaked/blotched brown.
- Range & Status
- nomadic resident in n. and inland Aust.; breeding migrant to s. Aust. (Aug.-March) wintering in inland, n. Aust., perhaps PNG. Casual n. Tas. Fairly common. Also e. Indonesia, PNG.
