Black-winged Cuckooshrike
Lalage melaschistos
暗灰鹃鵙
Introduction
A medium-sized cuckooshrike (family Campephagidae) found in South to Southeast Asia. Despite the name, cuckooshrikes are unrelated to shrikes or cuckoos. Species has broad-based bills, grey upperparts, black wings, white vent, graduated white-tipped tails, black bills and legs. Females are distinctly paler overall. Breeds in summer mountainous regions from 300-2450 meters elevation and migrates altitudinally or southward for winter.
Description
A medium-sized, dark cuckooshrike with unbarred, grey underparts. Males display dark grey upperparts with contrasting black wings and tail; the underside of the tail shows wide white feather tips. Females are paler with faint barring on the underparts. The species has a graduated, white-tipped tail and a robust, broad-based black bill.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in mountains from 300-2450 meters across Northeast Pakistan through the lower Himalayan region (Uttarakhand, Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh), continuing through hills of northeastern Myanmar to China and Southeast Asia. Winters in foothills, with some individuals moving southwest to northern peninsular India and east to Orissa, Bangladesh; range extends as far south as Kerala. Occurs singly or in pairs.
Behavior & Ecology
Diet consists mainly of caterpillars, beetles and other invertebrates. Inhabits deciduous and broad-leaved evergreen forest during breeding season; winters in open forest and groves. Known to join mixed feeding parties. Vocalization is a loud twit-twit to we, descending in scale. Nests in trees.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Campephagidae
- Genus
- Lalage
- eBird Code
- bkwcus1
Subspecies (4)
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Lalage melaschistos avensis
western China to central and southern Myanmar, northern Thailand, and northern Vietnam
-
Lalage melaschistos intermedia
central and southern China and Taiwan; winters to Indochina
-
Lalage melaschistos melaschistos
northern Pakistan, Himalayas, and northeastern Indian subcontinent
-
Lalage melaschistos saturata
northern Vietnam and Hainan; winters to Indochina
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.