Myiagra | |
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Broad-billed flycatcher Myiagra ruficollis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Monarchidae |
Genus: | Myiagra Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 |
Type species | |
Myiagra rubeculoides [1] = Todus rubecula Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | |
Species | |
see text | |
Synonyms | |
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Myiagra is a genus of passerine birds in the family Monarchidae, the monarch flycatchers, native to Australasia, sometimes referred to as the broad-billed flycatchers or simply broadbills.
The genus Myiagra was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield. [2] The name combines the Ancient Greek muia meaning "a fly" and agreō meaning "to seize". Myiagros was also the name of a Greek god. [3] The type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1840 as the leaden flycatcher. [4] [5]
The genus contains 22 species, including one that is now extinct: [6]
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Myiagra:
Members of this genus are separated from other members of the family, particularly the Monarcha monarchs they resemble, by their consistent sexual dimorphism, egg patterning, and the crested heads that often lack facial patterns (a few Monarcha monarchs also lack facial patterns). Flycatchers in the genus Myiagra are small birds ranging in length from 13–20 cm in length. They have broad flattened bills adapted to catching insects. The bill is usually black, the exception being the blue-crested flycatcher of Fiji, whose bill is bright orange. The insides of their mouths are bright orange, noticeable when singing. When perched they have an upright stance. The satiny plumage of all species is sexually dichromatic, to a greater or lesser degree. Overall males tend to have dark blue or black heads, backs, wings and tails and pale bellies and rumps. Some males have red underparts, others have the dark upper plumage all over, and the slightly aberrant shining flycatchers have chestnut wings, backs and tails. The females follow a similar pattern to males but have lighter, more washed out colours. When perched the species in this genus constantly moves their closed tail, in the restless flycatcher the tail is shacked from side to side. The orange lining to their mouths is visible when they sing.
Members of this genus differ from the closely related genus Monarcha in having their crested heads often unpatterned, and the sexes being different in appearance. They have satiny plumage and perch upright, their long tails tending to move frequently. Males typically have dark blue heads and upper parts and paler underparts, and females are mostly similar in appearance to the males but their colour is more washed out and less intense. Their broad beaks are adapted to feed on insects, which they mostly catch on the wing.
The calls are generally unmusical and are described as guttural, harsh and rasping.
The genus is adapted to feeding on insects in a manner similar to the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. Prey is obtained by sallying from a perch to obtain flying insects or by hover-gleaning, snatching insects from the undersides of leaves while in flight.
The genus is spread across Australasia, with some representatives in Wallacea, New Guinea, Australia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa and Micronesia. Members of this genus occur as occasional vagrants in New Zealand and formerly occurred in Tonga and Guam.
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about 15 to 18 cm long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian willie wagtail is a little larger, and, though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey.
The monarchs comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks.
The paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone) are a genus of birds in the family Monarchidae. The genus ranges across Africa and Asia, as well as a number of islands. A few species are migratory, but the majority are resident. The most telling characteristic of the genus is the long tail streamers of the males of many species. In addition to the long tails the males and females are sexually dimorphic and have rufous, black and white plumage.
Muscicapa is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and therein to the typical flycatchers of subfamily Muscicapinae. They are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia with most species occurring in forest and woodland habitats. Several species are migratory, moving south from Europe and northern Asia for the winter.
Drymophila is a bird genus in the antbird family (Thamnophilidae). It is a relative of the typical antwrens.
The shrikebills are the monarch flycatcher genus Clytorhynchus. The five species have long laterally compressed bills similar to true shrikes that give them their names. The genus is endemic to the islands of Melanesia and western Polynesia.
The celestial monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae, and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers. It is identified as a turquoise blue bird with a long and spectacular cerulean blue crest and large greenish-yellow wattle. It is endemic to the Philippines with its extant range being in Luzon, Samar, Mindanao Tawi-Tawi and Basilan and it being possibly extinct on Negros and Sibuyan Island.Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests up to 750 masl. There is an unverified report of this bird in 2024 in Leyte. It is one of the most sought after birds by birdwatchers in the Philippines and in the world.
The short-crested monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers. It is a brilliant ultramarine blue bird with the males having a black facial markings with an electric blue eyering and a short crest contrasted with a pearly white belly. It is endemic to the Philippines found on the islands of Luzon, Camiguin Norte, Polilio, Catanduanes, Samar, Dinagat and Mindanao. It is found in tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is one of the most sought after birds among birdwatchers.
Monarcha is a genus of bird in the family Monarchidae. They are found in Australia and Melanesia.
The azure-crested flycatcher or the blue-crested flycatcher, is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Fiji, where it is found on Taveuni.
The satin flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. Males stand out with their blue-black feathers contrasting their white bellies, and the females with their bright orange throats. It breeds mostly in south-eastern Tasmania and Australia. It is declining throughout the eastern seaboard due to predation from the introduced Red Fox and habitat loss. It is a vagrant to New Zealand.
The Palau flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Palau.
The Guam flycatcher, or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam.
The Chuuk flycatcher, formerly sometimes known as the oceanic flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Micronesia and can be found on the Caroline Islands. The diversity of traits in the Oceanic flycatchers resulted from three waves of colonization in non-overlapping times, which led to situ specification events on Micronesian islands.
The leaden flycatcher is a species of passerine bird in the family Monarchidae. Around 15 cm (6 in) in length, the male is lustrous azure with white underparts, while the female possesses leaden head, mantle and back and rufous throat and breast. It is found in eastern and northern Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests in the northern parts of its range, in the south and inland it is eucalypt woodland.
Pomarea is a genus of birds in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. The genus is restricted to the islands of Polynesia. The monarchs of this genus are around 15–19 cm long and most have sexually dimorphic plumage.
Trochocercus is a genus of bird in the family Monarchidae. Described by Jean Cabanis in 1850, the name Trochocercus is a combination of the Greek words trokhos meaning "circular" or "round" and kerkos, meaning "tail".
The pale-blue monarch is a small passerine bird in the family Monarchidae endemic to eastern Indonesia.