About Lalage sueurii (Vieillot, 1818)
The white-shouldered triller, with the scientific name Lalage sueurii (Vieillot, 1818), is a passerine bird. It is a member of the triller genus Lalage, which falls within the cuckoo-shrike family Campephagidae. This species is found in Indonesia and East Timor. The white-winged triller (L. tricolor), native to Australia and New Guinea, was previously classified as part of this species, but is now recognized as a distinct separate species. The white-shouldered triller is a fairly small bird, measuring 17 centimetres in length. Its bill is grey with a black tip, while its legs and feet are solid black. Breeding males are mainly black on their upper body and white on their underparts, with a grey rump, a white stripe over the eye, white wing-patches, and white colouring on the outer tail-feathers. Females follow a similar overall pattern to males, but are brown rather than black on their upper body, and have fine black barring across their underparts. The closely related pied triller looks similar to the white-shouldered triller, but is slightly smaller, has a broader stripe above the eye, and more white colouring in the wing. Male white-winged trillers, which are now a separate species, lack the white stripe over the eye that characterizes male white-shouldered trillers. The song of the white-shouldered triller is a metallic whistling, which is sometimes performed while the bird is in flight. It also produces a rapid series of harsh vocal notes. Within its range, the white-shouldered triller occurs specifically in eastern Java, southern Sulawesi, Bali, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. It inhabits open woodland, savannas, and agricultural land located in dry, lowland areas. It feeds primarily on insects, and often swoops down from a perch to catch insect prey on the ground.
