Black-naped Monarch

Black-naped Monarch
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Hypothymis azurea

Malay Name: Murai-Ranting Biasa

Chinese Name: 黑枕王鹟

Range: Found from Indian subcontinent to Southern China and Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: styani, oberholseri, ceylonensis, tytleri, idiochroa, nicobarica, montana, galerita, forrestia, prophata, javana, penidae, karimatensis, opisthocyanea, gigantoptera, consobrina, leucophila, richmondi, abbotti, symmixta, azurea, aeria, catarmanensis.

Local Subspecies: prophata

Size: 16-17.5 cm

Identification: Male has distinctive all blue upperparts and breast, white belly and black nuchal tuft and breast band. Female has a dull bluish head, greyish breast, brownish upperparts and whitish belly. Juvenile resembles female.

Habitat: Forest, forest edge and secondary growth near forest.

Behaviour/Ecology: Diet consist presumably of small insects which are usually snatched when flushed.

Local Status: Very rare resident

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Featured reports: Aug 2023, Oct 2024, Apr 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Male Black-naped Monarch at Pulau Tekong on 16 Dec 2012. Photo Credit: Lim Kim Chuah
Black-naped Monarch (male) at Panti Bird Sanctuary. Photo credit: Alan Ng
Female Black-naped Monarch at Pulau Ubin. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Male Black-naped Monarch at Pulau Tekong on 16 Dec 2012. Photo Credit: Lim Kim Chuah
Female Black-naped Monarch at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Photo credit: Jared Tan
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Black-naped Monarch)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Hypothymis azurea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103715755A94105987.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Vol. 1). Academic Press, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Black-naped Monarch. Retrieved on June 21, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/black-naped-monarch.

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