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Monarchidae
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Mayrornis
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Vanikoro Monarch Mayrornis schistaceus Scientific name definitions

Phil Gregory
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated October 28, 2014

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13–14 cm. Plumage is mainly dull slate-grey, with broad ill-defined pale eyering and lores, short dark grey moustachial stripe; underparts slightly paler, undertail-coverts whitish; tail black, with small but obvious white tips on outer three feather pairs; iris dark; bill and legs grey. Sexes alike. Juvenile has paler undertail, and darker, less defined white spots on underside of rectrices; dull pale orange-pink basal two-thirds of lower mandible.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Vanikoro and small satellite island of Teanu, in S Santa Cruz Is (extreme E Solomons).

Habitat

Primary forest and secondary growth in lowlands and mountains to 450 m, perhaps only in regrowth adjacent to old-growth forest. Tolerant of old logged forest, but absent from open or scrubby habitats.

Movement

Sedentary

Diet and Foraging

Insectivorous. Forages in canopy and subcanopy, often with mixed-species flocks or with Rufous Fantails (Rhipidura rufifrons); rarely at lower levels, except at forest edge. Often hops on big branches, occasionally on trunks, often in thickets of lianas, creepers and dead leaves. Gleans items from foliage. Holds tail nearly always cocked, occasionally flicked up or down and fanned.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Noisy, one call described as a typical monarchine musical rasp, a scolding “scha-scha” and a chattering “schschschsch”. Song a trisyllabic quavering whistle, “whee-hee-oow”. Juvenile call a continuous “ch-ch-ch…”, harsher than call of Cardinal Honeyeater (Myzomela cardinalis).

Breeding

Juveniles seen in Nov. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife VU Vulnerable

VULNERABLE. Previously considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Vanuatu and Temotu EBA. Total population estimated at c. 5,000 individuals, but suspected to be in low decline owing to limited habitat loss and degradation, mainly through gradual expansion of subsistence agriculture. Although no plans for large-scale commercial logging, there is continual pressure from multi-national logging companies to exploit the forests of Vanikoro.

Distribution of the Vanikoro Monarch - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Vanikoro Monarch

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Gregory, P. (2020). Vanikoro Monarch (Mayrornis schistaceus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.vanmon1.01
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