About the Black-naped Monarch
The black-naped monarch is a passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers found in southern and south-eastern Asia. They are sexually dimorphic, with the male having a distinctive black patch on the back of the head and a narrow black half collar ("necklace"), while the female is duller with olive brown wings and lacking the black markings on the head. They have a call that is similar to that of the Asian paradise flycatcher, and in tropical forest habitats, pairs may join mixed-species foraging flocks. Populations differ slightly in plumage colour and sizes.
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ID tip
The adult male black-naped monarch is about 16 cm long, and is mainly pale azure blue apart from a whitish lower belly. It has a black nape and a narrow black gorget. The female is duller and lacks the black markings. Its wings and back are grey-brown. However, several geographically separated breeding populations differ in the extent and shade of markings. The Indian peninsula has subspecies H. a. styani (which subsumes H. a. sykesi of Stuart Baker), in which males have very distinct black markings and a whitish abdomen. Males of the Sri Lankan race H. a.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in March · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Short-crested MonarchHypothymis helenaeThe short-crested monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers.
Celestial MonarchHypothymis coelestisThe celestial monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae, and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers.
Learn the Black-naped Monarch for real
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