Australian Spectacled Monarch

1. White “spectacles” and black facial mask

2. Orange-rufous throat and breast, white belly

3. Long, dark tail with white corners

Spectacled Monarchs breed from September to February, building small cup-shaped nests from bark strips, plant fibers, and spider web, usually in the fork of a branch up to 6 meters above ground. Both parents share incubation and feeding duties, and pairs are territorial during the breeding season. In the southern parts of their range, they are partly migratory, present from spring to autumn and moving north or to coastal areas in winter. Their diet consists mainly of insects, which they capture by gleaning from foliage or by hovering and snatching prey from leaves and bark.

Australian Spectacled Monarchs inhabit dense tropical and subtropical forests along the eastern coastline, from Cape York Peninsula to around Sydney. They are found in rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and sometimes mangroves or adjacent scrubland. These birds are most often seen in the lower and middle levels of forest trees, especially among vines and creepers, and are active foragers, often joining mixed-species flocks with other small insectivores. Listen for their melodious, rising whistles or harsh buzzing calls, especially at dawn when they are most vocal and active.