The black-faced monarch (Monarcha melanopsis) is a passerine songbird in the family Monarchidae found along the eastern seaboard of Australia, and also New Guinea (where most birds migrate to during the austral winter; May to August).[3]
The black-faced monarch was originally described as Muscicapa melanopsis by Louis Vieillot in 1818 from a specimen collected in New South Wales.[4] The species is now placed in the genus Monarcha that was introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827.[5][6] The specific name is from the Ancient Greek words melas "black" and ops "face".[7] English naturalist William Swainson described it in 1823 as Muscipeta carinata, or "keel-billed flycatcher",[8] unaware of Vieillot's earlier description.[7] In his 1848 work The Birds of Australia, John Gould called it Monarcha carinata "Carinated flycatcher".[9]
Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews described a paler specimen from Cape York as a distinct subspecies pallidus,[10] though this was not recognised subsequently.[2]
"Black-faced monarch" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).[6] Alternate names include the "black-faced flycatcher", "carinated flycatcher", "grey-winged monarch" (particularly in New Guinea to distinguish from black-winged monarch), "grey-winged monarch flycatcher" and "pearly-winged monarch".[7]
The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[6] Within the genus, it is most closely related to the black-winged monarch (Monarcha frater).[11]
The black-faced monarch is grey, with rufous underparts and mature birds have a black patch on the face.
The preferred habitat is rainforest and wet forest.
The black-faced monarch (Monarcha melanopsis) is a passerine songbird in the family Monarchidae found along the eastern seaboard of Australia, and also New Guinea (where most birds migrate to during the austral winter; May to August).
