Black-and-white Monarch Symposiachrus barbatus Scientific name definitions

Taxonomic note: Lump. This account is a combination of multiple species accounts originally published in HBW Alive. That content has been combined and labeled here at the subspecies level. Moving forward we will create a more unified account for this parent taxon. Please consider contributing your expertise to update this account.

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

14–16 cm; 19–26·5 g. Small, black-and-white monarch with large white wing patch. Adult has head and face (to lower cheeks and ear-coverts), and chin to upper breast bluish black; upperparts, including upperwing and tail, bluish black, except for white on all (except outer­most) median and greater upperwing-­coverts and tips of outer four tail feathers; underparts from lower cheeks and ear-coverts white; iris dark brown; bill pale bluish grey, dark tip; legs blue-grey. Sexes alike. Juvenile has sides of head and upperparts grey-brown, tips of greater coverts rufous-brown, tail blackish brown, pale rufous tips on outer rectrices (but tips on underside broadly white), mostly deep rufous below, greyer on throat, lighter or whitish on belly; bill dark grey to blackish, base paler or bluish.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

c. 16·5 cm. Small, black-and-white monarch with large white wing patch and mainly white tail. Adult has most of head and face (to lower cheeks and ear-coverts), hindneck, and chin to upper breast bluish black, isolating white patch on moustachial and malar region to front part of neck-sides; upperparts, including upperwing, bluish black, except for white on all (except outermost) median and greater upperwing-coverts; outer four tail feathers entirely white, central pair bluish black; underparts from central breast and breast-sides to vent white, hint of white scalloping extending to black of breast; iris dark brown; bill pale bluish grey, dark tip; legs blue-grey. Sexes alike. Juvenile apparently undescribed; presumably similar to that of S. barbatus.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Hitherto treated as conspecific with S. malaitae (which see). Monotypic.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Hitherto treated as conspecific with S. barbatus, but differs in the black extending slightly lower on breast and connecting at sides to black of carpal, isolating the patch of white moustachial and side-collar (2); slight white scalloping on black of lower breast (1); all-white outer four rectrices vs white tips on outer two rectrices (3); and slightly larger size (1 Mayr, E. (1931). Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. XVII. The birds of Malaita Island (British Solomon Islands). Amer. Mus. Novit. 504: 1–26. Close ) (allow 1). Monotypic.

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Solomon Is (Buka, Bougainville, Shortlands, Choiseul, Isabel, Florida, Guadalcanal).

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Malaita, in E Solomons.

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Primary closed-canopy forest and tall secondary forest, less frequently in second growth and occasionally near houses and villages; sea-level to c. 1200 m, mostly 250–1000 m.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Food largely small invertebrates. Usually solitary or in pairs; occasionally associated with mixed-species foraging flocks. Actively forages in dense foliage of understorey down to within 1–2 m of ground, and up to canopy level. Flutters and tumbles in foliage, catching the small insects displaced; also pursues insects in flight. When perched, has erect and rather motionless posture.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Calls include a series of loud, high-pitched monotone whistles, “feeee feeee feeee…” or slightly downslurred “feweee feweee feweee…”, and a series of harsh or grating and slightly metallic churring notes. Generally harsher-sounding, lower-pitched and less distinctly syllabic than Monarcha castaneiventris.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Black-and-white Monarch (Solomons)

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Solomon Group EBA. Fairly common or locally common. Potentially at risk, as a large area of its lowland-forest habitat has been felled or is scheduled for logging; as much of this species’ population occurs in hilly regions, however, it is probably declining at only a moderate rate.

Black-and-white Monarch (White-cheeked)

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. This poorly known species is restricted to a single island, where it is considered relatively uncommon. Malaita has suffered moderate levels of logging and slow but ongoing deforestation, as a result of which this monarch is likely to be experiencing a moderately rapid decrease in its population. Research is required in order to determine its exact population size and its degree of tolerance of degraded forest; regular monitoring of the population at certain sites is recommended. Protection of significant areas of remaining primary forest is required.