Moluccan monarch explained

The Moluccan monarch (Symposiachrus bimaculatus) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae.It is found in Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was formerly placed in the genus Monarcha until moved to Symposiachrus in 2009. Some authorities consider the Moluccan monarch as a subspecies (S. trivirgatus bimaculatus) of the spectacled monarch. The subspecies nigrimentum was formerly considered a subspecies of the spectacled monarch.^[1]

Subspecies

There are three subspecies recognized:^[2]

• S. b. bimaculatus - (Gray, GR, 1861): found on Morotai, Halmahera and the Bacan Islands (northern Moluccas)
• S. b. diadematus - (Salvadori, 1878): found on Bisa and Obi Island (northern Moluccas)
• S. t. nigrimentum - (Gray, GR, 1861): Seram & Ambon (east-central Moluccas), Gorong & Watubela (southeastern Moluccas)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Monarchs – IOC World Bird List . 2023-01-23 . en-US.
2. IOC World Bird List 6.4. IOC World Bird List Datasets. 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4. free.