- Lalage nigra
Identification
16,5 to 18 cm.
Male
- Glossy black forehead, crown, nape, mantle and scapulars
- Broad white supercilium
- Black band from lores to nape, white rest of head
- Black wings with big white patch and white fringes
- White underparts with grey wash on breast
- Grey rump and uppertail-coverts, black tail
Female
- Greyish brown instead of black plumage parts
- Washed buffish underparts with narrow dark scales
Juveniles
- Similar to female but with browner upperparts and blackish shaft streaks on side of throat, breast and undertail-coverts
Similar species
White-rumped Triller has a white rump and white uppertail-coverts.
Distribution
Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Philippines. Also on Nicobar Islands.
Common in parts of its range. davisoni uncommon to rare.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies recognized:
- L. n. davisoni in Nicobar Islands
- L. n. striga in Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and offshore islands
- L. n. nigra in Borneo and Philippines
Closely related to White-rumped Triller and White-shouldered Triller and the three may form a superspecies.
Habitat
Open country, gardens in towns, and open scrub in the lowlands. Often around large trees.
Occurs from lowlands up to 1000 m, recorded up to 1550 in Peninsular Malaysia.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on arthropods, mainly caterpillars. Takes also some fruit.
Forages singly, in pairs or small flocks, in all levels of trees and also in bushes and hedgerows. Also seen hunting on ground.
Breeding
Breeding season February to August in Malay Peninsula, May to June in Philippines and February to April and June to August in Sumatra. The nest is an open cup made of grass, casuarina needles and fibre. It's placed on a horizontal branch 3 to 9 m above the ground. Lays 2 to 3 eggs. Both parents feed the young.
Movements
A resident species. Seasonal changes in abudance noted in Singapore suggest some migration or local dispersal.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pied Triller. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pied_Triller
External Links
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