Pohnpei Flycatcher Myiagra pluto Scientific name definitions

15 cm. Smallish, long-tailed flycatcher with erectile crest (raised when agitated). Male  is mostly blackish and slate-grey, with steel-blue and greenish gloss; blackest on forehead, browner on wings, with lower breast and abdomen slate-grey; iris dark brown; bill black and legs blue-grey. Female is slightly smaller and somewhat duller than male. Immature resembles female, but is duller.

Sometimes considered conspecific with M. oceanica (which see), M. erythrops and the extinct †M. freycineti. Differs from M. erythrops in characters given under that species. From M. oceanica in its considerably smaller bill (effect size for males −4.3, score 2); rather longer tail (effect size for males 2.46, score 2); all-dark vs variably coloured plumage (4); and seemingly different call (1 Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ), although analysis reveals most vocabulary shared (hence score only 1) (2 Boesman, P. (2016). Notes on the vocalizations of Oceanic Flycatcher (Myiagra oceanica). HBW Alive Ornithological Note 192. In: Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Close ). From †M. freycineti in its much larger size, most notably longer tail (effect size for males 8.1, score 3); all-dark vs variably coloured plumage (4); apparently different call (1 Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett (1987). A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close ) (allow 2). This arrangement is supported by molecular evidence (3 Fabre, P.H., Moltensen, M., Fjeldså, J., Irestedt, M., Lessard, J.P. and Jønsson, K.A. (2014). Multiple waves of colonization by monarch flycatchers (Myiagra, Monarchidae) across the Indo-Pacific and their implications for coexistence and speciation. J. Biogeogr. 41(2): 274–286. Close , 4 Andersen, M. J., P. A. Hosner, C. E. Filardi, and R. G. Moyle (2015). Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 83:118–136. Close ). Monotypic.

Pohnpei I.

Song-like vocalizations  include a series of repeated low-pitched melodious upslurred whistles at variable pace, e.g. “whee..whee..whee..whee”, sometimes accompanied by grating notes and a whinnying fast descending series of short nasal notes. Also emits a harsh grating note ending with a short pure syllable. Overall quite similar to M. oceanica.

Nests recorded between late Jul and early Aug, but approximately 50% of male specimens collected in Nov–Dec were in breeding condition (but no females). Structure is cup-shaped, constructed of fine grasses and ferns, and sited in small trees and bushes 0·9–2·2 m above ground. Four nests each held just a single egg, size 19·5–20·5 mm × 15·7–16 mm. No further information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Common throughout its small range at all elevations, but there was nevertheless some evidence of a decline in numbers between the early 1980s and mid 1990s. This species’ global population size has not been quantified, but its numbers are currently thought to be stable. No significant threats are known.