Tanimbar Monarch
Carterornis castus
A striking black-and-white songbird with diagnostic bold white markings on the black face and a broad white panel in the black wings. Outer tail feathers white, and underparts white except for black throat. Female shows more extensive white facial markings and a rose flush to breast. Singles or pairs can be found high in forests of the lowlands and foothills, regularly joining mixed-species flocks. Unique within range in Tanimbar Islands. Song is a stuttering, rising “w’w’witcheuwit.” Also gives a shorter “witcheu” and characteristic monarch rasping calls, “grrrt-grrrt.”
Identification
The Tanimbar monarch (Carterornis castus), or Loetoe monarch is a bird in the family Monarchidae endemic to Indonesia. It is found in the Tanimbar Islands.
Taxonomy
This subspecies was formerly placed in the genus Monarcha until moved to Carterornis in 2009. While the Tanimbar monarch was formerly considered a subspecies of the white-naped monarch (C. pileatus), it is now considered a separate species.
- Scientific name
- Carterornis castus
- Authority
- (Sclater, PL, 1883)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Carterornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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