White-eared Monarch

1. Bold white patches on a black head, especially around the ears and above the eye

2. White wing panels and rump contrasting with black upperparts

3. Prominent bristles around the bill; active foraging in the outer canopy

The breeding season is generally from August or September to January or March, with nests built high in the outer foliage of the canopy but sometimes lower in shrubs. Nests are deep cups made of moss, grass, bark strips, plant fibers, and spider webs, often using paler materials that give a whitish appearance. Both sexes participate in nest building and likely incubation. The species is primarily sedentary, with some individuals showing altitudinal movements or post-breeding dispersal from highlands to lowlands, but no large-scale migrations are known. White-eared Monarchs forage actively, gleaning insects from foliage and branches, sometimes hawking prey in flight. When alarmed or excited, they may raise their forehead and crown feathers and cock their tail, and have been observed rapidly spreading their wings in display.

White-eared Monarchs inhabit lowland and coastal rainforests, vine forests, and remt dry rainforest along Queensland’s coast and into extreme northeastern New South Wales, as far south as Iluka and occasionally to Port Macquarie. They are most often seen high in the outer canopy of rainforest margins or creekside vegetation, foraging for insects, and are more often heard than seen due to their discrete nature and distinctive downward three-note whistle or plaintive two-note calls. They may also venture into wet and dry sclerophyll forests, paperbark swamps, mangroves, and eucalypt woodlands, especially near streams.