Norfolk triller

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Norfolk triller
Lalage leucopyga leucopyga.jpg
Illustration by Henrik Gronvold
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Campephagidae
Genus: Lalage
Species:
L. leucopyga
Subspecies:
L. l. leucopyga
Trinomial name
Lalage leucopyga leucopyga
(Gould, 1838)

The Norfolk triller (Lalage leucopyga leucopyga) was a small passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family, Campephagidae. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the long-tailed triller which was endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Little is known of its biology.

Description[]

Illustration by Georg Forster from the 1770s

The Norfolk triller was similar to other subspecies of the long-tailed triller, though it was slightly larger and had a richer buff wash on the underparts and rump and a broader white tip to the outer rectrices.[1]

Behaviour[]

Breeding[]

Breeding was recorded in September, with eggs in December and February. Nests were shallow and cup-shaped, made of lichen, moss and fibrous roots, and lined with finer material. The clutch was usually two eggs.[1]

Extinction[]

The triller was last recorded in 1942. The cause of its extinction was probably predation by black rats combined with clearance of its habitat, Norfolk Island's native subtropical rainforest.[1]

There are specimens of this bird held in the museums at Leiden, Vienna, Tring and in the H. L. White Collection at Melbourne.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Higgins, P.J.; Cowlin, SJ (2006). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 7: Boatbill to Starlings. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. p. 353. ISBN 0-19-553996-6.
  2. ^ Naturalis: Campephagidae - Norfolk Long-tailed Triller

External links[]

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