Black-faced monarch

Monarcha melanopsis

Photo by Tony Morris (Flickr)

Common name:
black-faced monarch (en); monarca-de-face-negra (pt); monarque à face noire (fr); monarca carinegro (es); maskenmonarch (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae

Range:
This species breeds along the eastern coast of Australia, from northern Queensland to Victoria, and migrates north to winter in southern Papua-New Guinea. Some populations in northern Queensland are resident.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh about 23 g.

Habitat:
The black-faced monarch is mostly found in rainforest, and also in nearby open eucalypt forests, especially in gullies with a dense understorey, as well as in dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands.

Diet:
They collect prey from the foliage, branches and crevices of trees and scrubs, taking various arthropods such as spiders, beetles, sawflies and wasps, grasshoppers, bugs, cicadas and lerps, moths and caterpillars, flies and dragonflies.

Breeding:
Black-faced monarchs breed in October-March. They nest among dense foliage and the female lays 2-3 eggs. The eggs are incubated 13-15 days and the chicks fledge 7-9 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a large breeding range and is reported to be locally common in the north of its range and scarcer elsewhere. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Restless flycatcher

Myiagra inquieta

Photo by Lip Kee Yap (Wikipedia)

Common name:
restless flycatcher (en); monarca-inquieto (pt); monarque infatigable (fr); monarca inquieto (es); weißkehlmyiagra (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae

Range:
This species is found northern and eastern mainland Australia, as well as in south-western Australia. It is also found in southern Papua New Guinea.

Size:
These birds are 16-21 cm long and weigh about 20 g.

Habitat:
The restless flycatcher is found in open tropical and temperate forests, dry savannas, dry scrublands and rural gardens.

Diet:
They hawk insects, spiders and centipedes from perches in the mid-level of the canopy.

Breeding:
Restless flycatchers breed in July-March. The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a small cup made of bark and grass bound with spider webs, camouflaged with pieces of lichen and bark, and placed in a exposed position on a tree branch, often near or over water. There the female lays 3-4 eggs which are incubated by both sexes for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge about 14 days after hatching. Each pair can raise up to 3 broods per season.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be locally fairly common. The population is estimated to be in decline following local decreases and range contractions probably owing to intensive farming and habitat modification

African blue-flycatcher

Elminia longicauda

Photo by Steve Garvie (Flickr)

Common name:
African blue flycatcher (en); monarca-azul-africano (pt); elminie bleue (fr); elminia azul (es); türkiselminie (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae

Range:
This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Senegal to South Sudan and south to northern Tanzania, D.R. Congo and northern Angola.

Size:
These birds are 13-15 cm long and weigh around 10 g.

Habitat:
The African blue flycatcher is mostly found in moist tropical forests, especially secondary forest, swampy or riverine forests. They are also found in dry savannas, scrublands, mangroves, rural gardens, arable land and cocoa plantations.

Diet:
They mainly feed on insects and other arthropods, which can be hawked or gleaned from the foliage.

Breeding:
African blue flycatchers are monogamous and nest in a compact cup placed in a fork in a low tree. There the female lays 1-2 white eggs which are incubated by the female alone. The chicks are fed by both parents. There is no information regarding the incubation and fledging periods.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the African blue flycatcher is described as uncommon to locally common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

African paradise-flycatcher

Terpsiphone viridis

Photo by Callie de Wet (Oiseaux)

Common name:
African paradise-flycatcher (en); monarca-africano (pt); tchitrec d'Afrique (fr); monarca colilargo africano (es); graubrust-paradiesschnäpper (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae


Range:
This species is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the most arid parts of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.


Size:
These birds are 17 cm long, but the elongated tail streamers of adult males double this length. They weigh 12-14 g.


Habitat:
These birds are mostly found in dry savannas, but also in a wide range of other wooded habitats, scrublands, plantations, agricultural areas and gardens. they are present from sea level up to an altitude of 2.500 m.


Diet:
They mainly eat invertebrates such as moth, termite alates, beetles, flies, mosquitoes, lacewings, mantids, cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, bugs, midges and ant alates. They occasionally also eat small berries.


Breeding:
African paradise-flycatchers can breed all year round, varying between the different parts of their range. In South Africa they breed in October-December. Both sexes build the nest, a small cup of twigs and bark held together with spider web and decorated with lichen. There the female lays 1-4 eggs which are incubated by both sexes for 11-19 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10-16 days after hatching, but remain with their parents until the next clutch is laid.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, it is reported to be uncommon to abundant. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Asian paradise-flycatcher

Terpsiphone paradisi

Photo by Steve Garvie (Wikipedia)

Common name:
Asian paradise-flycatcher (en); monarca-asiático (pt); tchitrec de paradis (fr); monarca colilargo asiático (es); fahlbauch-paradiesschnäpper (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae


Range:
This species is found trhoughout south-eastern Asia, from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to north-eastern China and extreme south-eastern Russia, and south to Indonesia. the more northern population migrate south to winter within the southern parts of their range.


Size:
These birds are 19-22 cm long, plus 24-30 cm long tail streamers in adults. They weigh around 20 g.


Habitat:
They are mostly found in rainforests with dense undergrowth, but also in mangroves, temperate forests, moist scrublands, rural gardens, plantations and urban areas. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 3.100 m.


Diet:
These birds are insectivorous, hunting insects in flight amongst the forest understory.


Breeding:
Asian paradise-flycatchers breed in May-July. The nest is cone-shaped and built with fine roots, plant fibres and small leaves, compacted with spider webs. The nest is placed in a scrub or small tree, up to 3 m above the ground. The female lays 3-4 pinkish-white eggs, which  are incubated by both parents for 13-16 days. The chicks fledge 12-14 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has an extremely large breeding range and is described as generally common throughout this range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

Melanesian flycatcher

Myiagra caledonica

Photo by Patrick Ingremeau (Oiseaux)

Common name:
Melanesian flycatcher (en); monarca-da-Melanésia (pt); monarque mélanésien (fr); miagra de Nueva Caledonia (es); hebridenmyiagra (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Monarchidae


Range:
This species is found in New Caledonia, Vanuatu and on the island of Rennell, in the Solomon Islands.


Size:
These birds are 13-14 cm long and weigh 10-12 g.


Habitat:
The Melanesian flycatcher is found in moist forests, open woodlands, second growth, plantations and mangroves. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.100 m.


Diet:
Like other flycatcher, they mostly forage by sallying from the foliage to catches insects in flight, but will also eat other small arthropods and larvae.


Breeding:
Melanesian flycatchers breed in August-February. The nest is built by both sexes, consiting of a neat and compact cup, made of plant fibres, and decorated with lichens, fine chips of bark, and sometimes moss and spider webs. The nest is placed on an horizontal branch or in a fork in a tree, 2-10 m above the ground. The female lays 2-3 pale eggs with pale brown and grey spots, which are incubated by both sexes for 18 days. The chicks are brooded and fed by both parents and fledge 17-19 days after hatching. Each pair only raises a single brood per season.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has a restricted breeding range, but it is described as quite common on New Caledonia and fairly common throughout the rest of its range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.