Tinian Monarch
Monarcha takatsukasae
Mostly rusty-red below and around the face, with a gray cap and a brownish back. Tail black with white tips, and wings have clear white double wingbars. Undertail white. Found in any forested habitat and dense scrub. Song is a short whistled “tee-tee-wheeeooo.” Common calls include mostly low rasping and scolding.
Taxonomy
Some authorities consider the Tinian monarch to belong to the genus Metabolus. Alternate names include Tinian flycatcher and Tinian Island monarch.
- Scientific name
- Monarcha takatsukasae
- Authority
- (Yamashina, 1931)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Monarcha
Range and habitat
The Tinian monarch was formerly endemic to Tinian until introduced to Guguan, Northern Mariana Islands in 2015 and 2016 where it has now bred successfully. The natural habitats of the Tinian monarch are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

Singing Parrot
Geoffroyus heteroclitus
A mostly green medium-sized parrot with a contrasting head, gray in females and yellow in males. Shows a blue underwing in flight. Inhabits lowland forest edge, including coconut plantations, parks, and gardens, up to at least 1750 meters of elevation. Bulkier than Cardinal, White-naped, Yellow-bibbed, and Purple-bellied Lories, with slower wingbeats, and lacks the mostly red color of those species. The similar Eclectus Parrot is larger with a bigger bill, and male is also green but has a red underwing. Singing Parrot’s voice includes a wide variety of harsh cries and a whistling bell-like song.

Bronze-tailed Starling
Lamprotornis chalcurus
A beautiful, glossy green-and-purple starling. There is a stripe through the eye that sometimes looks black and sometimes deep purple. The eye is reddish-orange. Juveniles are dull and blackish. Found in a wide variety of savanna habitats, from moist broadleaf woodland to dry thorn savanna. Also found in villages, towns, and cultivated areas. Very similar to Lesser and Greater Blue-eared Starlings, but separated by the purple rather than greenish tail and the darker reddish eye. The vocalizations include rising whistles, nasal whines, and long series of chattering notes.

Pallid Dove
Leptotila pallida
A rather plain medium-sized dove, mostly restricted to western Ecuador but also occurs in western Colombia and extreme northwestern Peru. Within range, the main confusion species is White-tipped Dove. Pallid Dove has notably darker and warmer brown upperparts that contrast more with the whitish underparts. Like other members of the genus, Pallid is typically found on the ground (or flushing up into the understory). It is most often seen walking on roads or trails, or flying across quickly. There are a few places where it visits feeders. Within its limited range, it is fairly common, but be careful to separate from the equally (or more) common White-tipped Dove. Listen for its low-pitched, single “hoo” call.
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