Lalage leucomela

Varied triller Lalage leucomela rufiventris, photographed by Lip Kee Yap.

Belongs within: Lalage.

Lalageleucomela, the varied triller, is a species of inconspicuous insectivorous bird found in woodlands in New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. They forage among foliage in pairs or small parties (Morcombe 2003).

Characters (from Morcombe 2003): Male with crown to back glossy black; prominent white brow line; black eye line; white shoulder bar; lower back and rump grey; tail black, tipped white; breast pale grey to buff, may or may not be barred; belly to vent cinnamon-tinted. Female much as for male, except brown in place of black, underparts barred; juvenile as for female, but flecked buff above, with darker barring and streaking of underparts. Contact calls given almost continuously while foraging: call a rolling, swelling and fading, mellow rattling, rising and strengthening for several seconds, 'trrrreee-', then falling '-iurr', giving an undulating 'trrreee-iurr, trrreee-iurr, trrreee-iurr'.

<==Lalage leucomela (Vigors & Horsfield 1827) [=Campephaga leucomela] WS48
    |--L. l. leucomela L03
    |--L. l. albidior Hartert 1924 [=L. karu albidior] L03
    |--L. l. conjuncta Rothschild & Hartert 1924 L03
    |--L. l. falsa Hartert 1925 [=L. karu falsa] L03
    |--L. l. keyensis Rothschild & Hartert 1917 [=L. karu keyensis] L03
    |--L. l. obscurior Rothschild & Hartert 1917 [=L. karu obscurior] L03
    |--L. l. pallescens Rothschild & Hartert 1917 [=L. karu pallescens] L03
    |--L. l. rufiventris (Gray 1846) L03 (see below for synonymy)
    |--L. l. tabarensis Mayr 1955 L03
    |--L. l. triobriandi Mayr 1936 [=L. karu triobriandi] L03
    `--L. l. yorki Mathews 1912 L03

Lalage leucomela rufiventris (Gray 1846) L03 [=Campephaga rufiventris WS48; incl. L. l. gouldi Mathews 1912 L03, L. l. macrura M03]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[L03] LeCroy, M. 2003. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Part 5. Passeriformes: Alaudidae, Hirundinidae, Motacillidae, Campephagidae, Pycnonotidae, Irenidae, Laniidae, Vangidae, Bombycillidae, Dulidae, Cinclidae, Troglodytidae, and Mimidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 278: 1-156.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds, 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M. & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1-126.