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21

Black-winged Monarch (Monarcha frater) Alternate name(s): "Pearly Flycatcher", "Black-winged Flycatcher" Size: 17-19 cm Weight: 17-20 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black-winged Monarchs are small to medium-sized monarchs. They have a black frons, lores, throat patch and upper chest, giving the impression of a black face. The eyes are surrounded by light-grey eye-rings that connect to equally light-grey ear coverts. The rest of the head, the back, down to the rump, and the chest are also light-grey. The rest of the front (lower breast to undertail coverts) is rufous. The flight feathers and the tail are black. The eyes have dark-brown irises. The strong bill, the legs and the feet are all grey. Juveniles have a duller front, a lighter-grey back and no black facial mask yet. Twitcher's tip Black-winged Monarchs have a clearly bi-coloured, light-grey and black back, while the upperparts of Black-faced Monarchs are all-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Black-winged Monarch at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black-winged Monarch is available HERE . Black-winged Monarchs are a partly migratory species of which there are 4 extant races, with a total range spanning from West Papua via Guinea to far north-eastern Australia. Nominate race "frater" is present only in north-western New Guinea, while race "kunupi" is found in west-central New Guinea. Race "periophthalmicus" lives in central and south-eastern New Guinea. The fourth race, "canescens", populates islands along the Torres Straight and far north-eastern Australia. In Australia only Black-winged Monarchs of race "canescens" exist. They populate only the eastern part of Cape York peninsula, to about Daintree NP, QLD, in the South. Black-winged Monarchs are usually found in low to highland rainforest, often in the low and middle storey.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "canescens" B. Hensen reports finding Black-winged Monarchs, race "canescens", at Iron Range NP, QLD, in December 2018. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by B. Hensen.

Photos

Race "canescens"

This race, which was previously treated as a separate species, is also called the "Pearly Flycatcher".

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male(?) Black-winged Monarch - note the black "shoulders"; because of the bold colour contrast between light-grey and deep rufous this bird may be a male (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of a male(?) Black-winged Monarch - note the black wing feathers; because of the bold colour contrast between light-grey and deep rufous this bird may be a male (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male(?) Black-winged Monarch - note the rufous patch on the rump, which is not described in field guides (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female(?) Black-winged Monarch; based on the slightly duller colours compared to the individual shown above this bird may be a female (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of a female(?) Black-winged Monarch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a female(?) Black-winged Monarch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a male(?) Black-winged Monarch that has just devoured its prey, a flying insect (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 9 December 2018, 4:40 +00:00