Island monarch facts for kids
The island monarch (Monarcha cinerascens) is a cool little bird that lives in the forests of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It's part of the Monarchidae family, which includes many types of flycatchers. You can find these birds in places like Sulawesi all the way to the Solomon Islands.
Quick facts for kids Island monarch |
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| at Talaud Islands | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Monarcha
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| Species: |
cinerascens
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| Subspecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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About the Island Monarch
The island monarch is a small bird that loves to live in warm, wet places. Its natural habitats are tropical forests. You can find them in forests that are low to the ground or even in mountain forests where it's still moist and green.
What's in a Name?
The island monarch got its official scientific name, Monarcha cinerascens, from a scientist named Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1827. Before that, it was sometimes called Drymophila cinerascens.
People also have other names for this bird! Some call it the grey-headed monarch because of its feathers. Other names include the island grey-headed monarch, island grey-headed monarch flycatcher, and islet monarch.
Different Kinds of Island Monarchs
Just like there are different breeds of dogs, there are different types of island monarchs called subspecies. Scientists have found ten different subspecies of the island monarch. Each one lives in a slightly different area.
Here are the different subspecies and where you might find them:
- M. c. commutatus - named by Friedrich Brüggemann in 1876. You can find this one on Sangir, Siau, Mayu, and Tifore Islands, which are near north-eastern Sulawesi.
- M. c. cinerascens - named by Temminck in 1827. This subspecies lives on Sulawesi, the Talaud Archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sundas.
- M. c. inornatus - named by Lesson, R and Garnot in 1828. You can find this one on the western Papuan islands, north-western New Guinea, and the Aru Islands.
- M. c. steini - named by Stresemann and Paludan in 1932. This subspecies lives on Numfor, an island off north-western New Guinea.
- M. c. geelvinkianus - named by Meyer, AB in 1884. This one is found on Yapen and Biak, islands off north-western New Guinea.
- M. c. fuscescens - also named by Meyer, AB in 1884. This subspecies lives on other islands off north-western New Guinea.
- M. c. fulviventris - named by Hartlaub in 1868. You can find this one in the western Bismarck Archipelago.
- M. c. perpallidus - named by Neumann in 1924. This subspecies lives in the northern and central parts of the Bismarck Archipelago.
- M. c. impediens - named by Hartert in 1926. This one is found in north-eastern New Guinea and nearby islands, as well as small islands off the eastern Bismarck Archipelago all the way to the Solomon Islands.
- M. c. rosselianus - named by Rothschild and Hartert in 1916. This subspecies lives on the Trobriand Islands, the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago, and the Louisiade Archipelago.
Sometimes, scientists change their minds about which birds are subspecies. For example, a subspecies called nigrirostris from north-eastern New Guinea used to be considered separate. But in 2022, scientists decided it was the same as impidiens.
