White-winged triller

Lalage tricolor

Photo by Tony Ashton (Tyto Tony)

Common name:
white-winged triller (en); lagarteiro d'asa branca (pt); échenilleur tricolore (fr); gorjeador de alas blancas (es); weißflügel-lalage (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Campephagidae

Range:
This species is endemic to Australia, being found throughout the Australian mainland and in northern Tasmania.

Size:
These birds are 17-19 cm long and weigh 26 g.

Habitat:
The white-winged triller is found in dry savannas and forests, tree-lined waterways in semi-arid regions, dry scrublands and also in arable land and within urban areas.

Diet:
They hawk flying insects in the air, but will also forage on the ground taking insects, fruits and seeds. They are also known to eat nectar.

Breeding:
White-winged trillers breed in September-December. They nest in colonies with many nests in the same tree. Each nest is a small cup made of bark, grasses and spider webs, placed in an horizontal branch or fork in a tree. They sometimes may use the empty nests of other birds, favouring the mud nests of magpie larks Grallina cyanoleuca. The female lays 2-3 eggs which are incubated by both parents for 14 days. The chicks are raised by both parents and fledge 12 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be often common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.