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Norfolk triller

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Norfolk triller
Illustration by Henrik Gronvold
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Campephagidae
Genus: Lalage
Species:
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

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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

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Breeding

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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

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Despite being recorded as 'abundant' in 1941,[2] 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][3]

References

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  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. ^ Alan Tennyson (2006). Extinct Birds of New Zealand. Illustrator: Paul Martinson (1st ed.). Wellington: Te Papa Press. ISBN 978-0-909010-21-8. OL 16144703M. Wikidata Q63353412.
  3. ^ Naturalis: Campephagidae - Norfolk Long-tailed Triller
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