Stuart Rae

White-winged Trillers

Last weekend I was out west helping Mark Clayton and several other bird-banders catch a variety of birds with mist-nets at Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve, West Wyalong, New South Wales. The species we caught most of was the White-winged Triller Lalage sueurii, an interesting species as the male and female have different plumages and when young or not breeding the males resemble the females. Which makes it all very tricky when one has to identify, age and sex each bird. I have pulled several images of various birds in these plumages and give a few pointers for identifying them. Although it is Spring, the birds were in flocks on passage and in all sorts of plumages, pre-breeding.

Adult male in breeding plumage
Pied, with a fully grey rump and all black bill

Same adult male

Adult female in breeding plumage
Light tawny body feathers, with fully grey rump
and a dark bill with a pale base to the lower mandible
tips to the primary coverts are cinnamon coloured

Immature female
Pale brown body feathers with a scalloped grey rump
tips of the primary coverts are whitish

Immature male
The bill resembles those of the females,
but it is beginning to grow dark adult male primaries
scalloped rump

 

Adult male in non-breeding plumage
The body feathers are pale brown, the bill is dull black with no distinct pale base to the lower mandible, the rump is scalloped grey, the feathers having buff tips