Short-crested monarch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Short-crested monarch |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Monarchidae |
| Genus: | Hypothymis |
| Species: |
H. helenae
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| Binomial name | |
| Hypothymis helenae (Steere, 1890)
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| Subspecies | |
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See text |
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| Synonyms | |
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The short-crested monarch (Hypothymis helenae) is a beautiful bird that belongs to a group of birds called monarchs. This special bird is only found in the Philippines. It lives in warm, wet forests that are not very high up. Sadly, its home is shrinking, which means it's in danger.
Contents
About the Short-Crested Monarch
This bird is quite small and likes to stay in the lower parts of forests, both in lowlands and on hills.
What Does It Look Like?
- Males: They are mostly deep blue on their back, head, and chest. Their belly is white. You can tell them apart from a similar bird called the Black-naped Monarch because the short-crested monarch has a black mark between its eye and beak. It also has a shorter, bushy crest of feathers on its head compared to the Celestial Monarch.
- Females: They have a gray-blue color on their upper parts, which helps tell them apart from other monarchs.
What Does It Sound Like?
The short-crested monarch sings a series of clear, whistling notes that get louder. It also makes a short, sharp call with two or three notes, where the first note is higher pitched.
Bird Friends
These birds are often seen flying together in mixed groups with other forest birds. They might hang out with birds like the Blue-headed fantail, Rufous paradise flycatcher, and Sulphur-billed nuthatch.
Other Names for This Bird
Sometimes, the short-crested monarch is also called the paradise flycatcher monarch or the short-crested blue-monarch.
Types of Short-Crested Monarchs
Scientists have found three different types, or subspecies, of the short-crested monarch:
- H. h. agusanae (discovered by Rand in 1970): You can find this type on Dinagat Island, Siargao, and in the eastern part of Mindanao in the central and southeastern Philippines.
- H. h. helenae (discovered by Steere in 1890): This type lives on Luzon, Polillo Island, Catanduanes, and Samar in the northern Philippines.
- H. h. personata (discovered by McGregor in 1907): This type is also known as the Camiguin blue-monarch or Camiguin monarch. It was first thought to be a completely different species! It lives on Camiguin Norte in the northern Philippines.
Where They Live and Why They Need Help
This bird is not very well known, but we do know it lives in the lower parts of forests that are below 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet) high. It seems to be more common on smaller islands like Camiguin.
The main reason this bird is in danger is because its forest home is being cut down. Forests are cleared for logging (cutting trees for wood), turning land into farms, and mining. All these activities reduce the places where the short-crested monarch can live and thrive. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed this bird as "near threatened," meaning it could become endangered if its habitat continues to disappear.
 | James Van Der Zee |
 | Alma Thomas |
 | Ellis Wilson |
 | Margaret Taylor-Burroughs |
