Black monarch explained

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.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was formerly placed in the genus Monarcha until moved to Symposiachrus in 2009.^[1] Alternate names include the black monarch flycatcher, fantail monarch and fantailed monarch.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies recognized:^[2]

• 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)

Notes and References

1. Web site: IOC Bird List v2.0. 2009. October 28, 2016.
2. IOC World Bird List 6.4. IOC World Bird List Datasets. 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4. free.