The monarchs comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks.
The African paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are of moderate length and without streamers. The upper parts of the male body, wings, and tail are boldly coloured in chestnut or rusty shades, but the underparts and the head are variably grey to blue-gray, with the head of the mature male being darker, commonly glossy black with greenish highlights. The beak and other bare areas, including a wattle ring round the eye, match the colour of the surrounding feathers. The female coloration is similar, though not so showy and glossy and with the head paler.
The red-bellied paradise flycatcher, also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird of the family of monarch flycatchers. It is native to Equatorial Africa. The male bird is about 17 cm (7 in) long and has a black head, a mainly chestnut body, and a tail with streamers nearly twice as long as the body. The colouring is somewhat variable across the bird's range. Both females and juveniles lack the tail streamers and are a duller brown colour. It is closely related to the African paradise flycatcher, and the two can hybridise.
The Indian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.
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.
The Seychelles paradise flycatcher is a rare bird from the genus of paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone) within the family Monarchidae. It is a forest-dwelling bird endemic to the Seychelles where it is native to the island of La Digue. Males have glossy black plumage with elongated tail feathers, while females are reddish-brown with pale underparts and no long tail feathers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists this bird as being "critically endangered" and attempts have been made to increase its numbers by relocating some individuals to Denis Island, another island in the Seychelles archipelago.
The Japanese paradise flycatcher, also called the black paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird native to southeastern Asia. It is a glossy black, chestnut and white bird, slightly smaller than either the Amur paradise flycatcher or Blyth's paradise flycatcher, but similar in appearance. Males have exceptionally long tails. Females are generally duller in appearance and have shorter tails.
The São Tomé paradise flycatcher, also known as São Tomé flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. The species was described by Thomas Richard Heywood Thomson in 1842. It is endemic to São Tomé Island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Bedford's paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Mascarene paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. There are two subspecies recognized: the nominate subspecies from Réunion, also known as the Réunion paradise flycatcher; and T. b. desolata from Mauritius. The Mascarene paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus Muscicapa and the subspecies T. b. desolata was originally described as a separate species.
The rufous paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The blue paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Palawan.
The Malagasy paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Comoros, Madagascar, and Mayotte. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The blue-mantled crested flycatcher or African crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae found in eastern and south-eastern Africa.
The blue-headed crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae found in western and central Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Bates's paradise flycatcher is a passerine bird belonging to the monarch-flycatcher family, Monarchidae. The sexes are similar in appearance with the upper parts being rufous and the head and underparts being bluish-grey. It is native to central Africa where it is found in the understorey of forests.
The Annobón paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized species of passerine bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Annobón Island in Equatorial Guinea.
The Amur paradise flycatcher is a bird species in the family Monarchidae. It is native to China, Manchuria and Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East. It is a winter migrant to Southeast Asia. Until 2015, it was considered as a subspecies of the Asian paradise flycatcher.
Blyth's paradise flycatcher also called the oriental paradise flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is native from southern China to Sumatra and Melanesia. Formerly, it was considered a subspecies of the Asian paradise flycatcher until elevated to species rank by the IOC in 2015.
In 2015, the Asian paradise flycatcher was split into the following three species:
