Glasses monarch
| Glasses monarch | ||||||||||||
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Glasses monarch |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Symposiachrus trivirgatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1826) |
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The spectacle monarch ( Symposiachrus trivirgatus ) is a bird from the family of monarchs (Monarchidae). It occurs in Australia , New Guinea and islands of Wallacea , the Lesser Sunda Islands and the Moluccas.
The IUCN classifies the stock situation of this species as harmless ( least concern ). Several subspecies are distinguished.
features
Build and color
The spectacle monarch reaches a body length of around 14 to 17 cm, of which 7 to 7.8 centimeters are accounted for by the tail. The beak is 15.8 to 16.2 mm long. The glasses monarch has a wing length of 73.8 - 75.8 mm and an average wingspan of 22.5 centimeters. The weight is between 8 and 16 g. There is no gender dimorphism .
Adult birds
The forehead, the front part of the head, the reins, the feathers above and below the eye, the ear covers, the chin and the middle of the throat are black and thus form a black face mask. In contrast, the orange-brown plumage of the front neck, the sides of the neck and the front chest stand out strongly. The back part of the head as well as the back neck and the entire upper side of the body are bluish slate gray. The folded wings are also slate gray, with the wings open the inner flags are visible. The tail plumage is black with white tips on the outer control feathers, which takes up almost half of the feather in the outermost pair of control feathers.
The orange-brown color of the breast is common to all subspecies, the color of the rest of the underside of the body depends on the respective subspecies. It ranges from a pure white underside of the body to an orange-brown plumage on the front abdomen and flanks with a whitish rump , a whitish lower abdomen and whitish under tail-covers. The beak is blue-gray with a small dark gray tip. The iris is dark brown, the legs and feet are dark blue-gray.
Fledglings
So far, only the young birds of the subspecies Symposiachrus trivirgatus melannorrhoa have been scientifically described. This subspecies lacks the black face mask in young birds and their plumage is predominantly gray with a cinnamon-colored shade at the top. The reins are cinnamon colored. Throat and sides of the neck are pale orange-brown.
Distribution area and habitat
The spectacle monarch occurs on the islands of Wallacea , the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Moluccas and the Louisiade archipelago . It is also a breeding bird in the Fly River region of southern New Guinea and northeast and eastern Australia. The Australian range is very large and stretches in a long band along the coast from the Cape York Peninsula in the north and Port Stephens in the south. There are also a few reports from the region around Sydney. The migration behavior of spectacle monarchs has not yet been conclusively investigated. In Australia, breeding birds in eastern Australia reside in northeast Queensland and on islands of the Torres Strait during the winter months . The move north usually takes place in March and April. They return to the south in the months of September to October. Some of the subspecies are believed to be resident birds .
The habitat is usually dense, low vegetation in rainforests, but also in moist hard-leaved forests. Occasionally it also occurs in mangroves and drier hardwood forests, in lightly wooded regions, parks and gardens. His preferred habitat, however, are damp, densely overgrown gorges.
Way of life
The spectacle monarch lives solitary and in pairs, only occasionally is he observed in smaller groups. It is often socialized with other insectivorous songbirds. It is a conspicuous, very agile and curious bird that is significantly more agile than the black wing monarch found in the same range . It usually stays in an area of five to 15 meters above the ground, only very rarely can it be seen in tree tops. He rarely gets on the ground. It only eats invertebrates and covers most of its food needs with insects.
Reproduction
The reproductive biology of the glasses monarch has not yet been conclusively investigated. However, the breeding season falls in the entire range from October to February. The nest is usually built in a fork of a branch and is often located near the water. It is a deep, bowl-shaped nest that is built from small strips of bark, plant fibers, small roots, leaves and moss. The full clutch consists of two or three eggs that are laid by the female one day apart. The breeding season is about 17 days; according to the current state of knowledge, only the female breeds. The nestlings fledge after about 17 to 20 days. They are cared for by the parent birds for between five to six weeks.
literature
- PJ Higgins, JM Peter and SJ Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2006, ISBN 978-0-195-55884-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World zu Brillemonarch , accessed May 9, 2017
- ^ A b Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 62.
- ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P.56.
- ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 57.
- ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 55.
- ^ A b Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 59.
- ^ A b Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 60.