White-naped monarch explained

The white-naped monarch (Carterornis pileatus) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it occurs in the Maluku Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was formerly placed in the genus Monarcha until moved to Carterornis in 2009.^[1] Some authorities have considered the white-naped monarch to be a subspecies of the white-eared monarch.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies recognized:^[2]

• Carterornis pileatus pileatus - (Salvadori, 1878): Found on Halmahera
• Carterornis pileatus buruensis - (Meyer, AB, 1884): Originally considered as a separate species in the genus Monarcha. Found on Buru.

The Tanimbar monarch (C. castus), found on the Tanimbar Islands, was originally described as a separate species in the genus Monarcha, reclassified as a subspecies of C. pileatus, and again reclassified as a distinct species within Carterornis by the International Ornithological Congress in 2021.^[3]

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.
3. Web site: Species Updates – IOC World Bird List. 2021-06-04. en-US.