Black monarch

The black monarch (Symposiachrus axillaris) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.^[1]

Black monarch
Illustration by William Matthew Hart
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Monarchidae
Genus:	Symposiachrus
Species:	S. axillaris
Binomial name
Symposiachrus axillaris (Salvadori, 1876)
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms
Monarcha axillaris Symposiarchus axillaris

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was formerly placed in the genus Monarcha until moved to Symposiachrus in 2009.^[2] Alternate names include the black monarch flycatcher, fantail monarch and fantailed monarch.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies recognized:^[3]

• S. a. axillaris - (Salvadori, 1876): Found in north-western New Guinea
• S. a. fallax - (Ramsay, EP, 1885): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Rhipidura. Found in west-central to south-eastern New Guinea and Goodenough Island (D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago)