Alternative names: Allied Monarch; Huahuna Monarch; Uahuka Monarch; Eiao Monarch (fluxa)
- Pomarea iphis
Identification
17cm. A dull-coloured flycatcher.
Male
- Black plumage with indistinctly defined white belly and undertail-coverts
- Dark eye
- Grey eyering
- Dark greyish legs and bill
Female
- Whitish lores and supercilium
- Pale-bordered warm brown ear-coverts
- Plain light brown upperparts with pale edgings of flight-feathers
- Thin pale wingbars
- Buffy white underparts
Juveniles are fawn-coloured and have a dark back.
Distribution
Endemic to Uahuka, Marquesas Islands and formerly on Eioa.
A restricted-range species with a very small range. At risk from introduction of alien species, especialle Black Rat. flexus last seen 1977, extinct at the same time as Chestnut-breasted Mannikin was introduced on Eioa.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies:
- P. i. iphis on Uahuka
- P. i. fluxa, formerly on Eioa, now extinct.
Habitat
Breeds in forest in the southern part of the island, in fau thickets and locally also in lowland dry forest.
Occurs at 30 - 650m, non-breeder occur up to 840m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects and spiders.
Forages in dense thickets, gleaning prey from branches or hawking them in the dark. Jumps from branch to branch while searching for food. Immature birds are inquisitive and will come very close to people.
Breeding
Breeding season June to November. The nest is made from vegetable fibres, wild cotton and animal hairs. It's placed 3 to 15m above the ground in a small fork of a big tree. One or two chicks recorded.
Movements
A sedentary species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2006. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553064
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Iphis Monarch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Iphis_Monarch
