Black-faced monarch

The black-faced monarch (Monarcha melanopsis) is a passerine songbird in the family Monarchidae found along the eastern seaboard of Australia, and also New Guinea (where most birds migrate to during the austral winter; May to August).^[3]

Black-faced monarch
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Monarchidae
Genus:	Monarcha
Species:	M. melanopsis
Binomial name
Monarcha melanopsis (Vieillot, 1818)
Synonyms[2]
Muscicapa melanopsis Muscipeta carinata, Swainson, 1823 Monarcha melanopsis pallidus, Mathews, 1916

Taxonomy and systematics

The black-faced monarch was originally described as Muscicapa melanopsis by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1818 from a specimen collected in New South Wales.^[4] The species is now placed in the genus Monarcha that was introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827.^[5][6] The specific name is from the Ancient Greek words melas "black" and ops "face".^[7] English naturalist William Swainson described it in 1823 as Muscipeta carinata, or "keel-billed flycatcher",^[8] unaware of Vieillot's earlier description.^[7] In his 1848 work The Birds of Australia, John Gould called it Monarcha carinata "Carinated flycatcher".^[9]

Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews described a paler specimen from Cape York as a distinct subspecies pallidus,^[10] though this was not recognised subsequently.^[2]

"Black-faced monarch" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).^[6] Alternate names include the "black-faced flycatcher", "carinated flycatcher", "grey-winged monarch" (particularly in New Guinea to distinguish from black-winged monarch), "grey-winged monarch flycatcher" and "pearly-winged monarch".^[7]

The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[6] Within the genus, it is most closely related to the black-winged monarch (Monarcha frater).^[11]

Description

The black-faced monarch is grey, with rufous underparts and mature birds have a black patch on the face.

Distribution and habitat

The preferred habitat is rainforest and wet forest.