Varied Triller
Lalage leucomela (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The varied triller (Lalage leucomela) like its better-known relative the white-winged triller, is a smaller member of the cuckoo-shrike family, Campephagidae. Varied trillers prefer warm, reasonably moist environments and are found in New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago, along much of the tropical and sub-tropical coastal hinterland of eastern Australia, from about the Sydney area to the tip of Cape York Peninsula, in the moister part of the Kimberley, and throughout the Top End.
Common to very common in the north, they are uncommon to rare in the colder south. Typical habitat is rainforest, vine forest, riverine thickets, eucalypt forest and woodland, with a particular preference for the border areas between closed and open forests.
Varied trillers work their way slowly and methodically through foliage at any level (sometimes on the ground), searching in pairs or small groups for insects and fruit, and making repeated rolling contact calls almost continuously.
An alternative name is Pied Caterpillar-eater (Karua Leucomela)
The Mussau triller (L. conjuncta) was formerly considered a subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Varied triller; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:18.024632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lalage leucomela (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
- Name authority
- (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
- Common name
- Varied Triller
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Lalage
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyCampephagidae Vigors, 1825
- genusLalage F. Boie, 1826
- speciesLalage leucomela (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lalage. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-shouldered TrillerLalage sueurii (Vieillot, 1818) | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-and-white TrillerLalage melanoleuca (Blyth, 1861) | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-bellied TrillerLalage aurea (Temminck, 1825) | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-browed TrillerLalage atrovirens (G. R. Gray, 1862) | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Samoan TrillerLalage sharpei Rothschild, 1900 | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-winged TrillerLalage tricolor (Swainson, 1825) | CampephagidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560658 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6NTZK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.