Black-faced Monarch

1. Black forehead and throat forming a partial mask (not extending through the eye)

2. Blue-grey upperparts and head, orange-rufous underparts

3. Small white crescent in front of the eye

The Black-faced Monarch breeds from October to January, constructing a deep cup-shaped nest from moss, bark, roots, and spider web, usually placed 3–6 meters above ground in a tree fork. Only the female builds the nest, but both sexes share incubation and feeding duties. Clutch size is typically two to three eggs. These birds forage for insects by gleaning from foliage and occasionally catching prey on the wing. Their foraging style is methodical and deliberate, often perching horizontally with the tail slightly raised. After breeding, most migrate north to winter in northern Queensland and New Guinea, crossing the Torres Strait by day or night, singly or in small groups.

Black-faced Monarchs are found in rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, coastal scrub, and damp gullies along Australia’s eastern coast, becoming less common further south. They are strictly arboreal, foraging in the middle and lower canopy, and may be found in more open woodland during migration. In the north, some birds are resident year-round, while in the south, they are summer breeding migrants, arriving in September and departing northwards (often to New Guinea) by March or April. Listen for their clear, whistled “why-you-which-yew” call and look for their slow, deliberate movements among branches and vines