by Meet The Black-Naped Monarch – The Bright Blue Flying Gem
If you love the beautiful blue shade of gemstones, you won’t keep your eyes off the black-naped monarch. Stretching to around 16cm long, but this chubby little bird can grasp your attention wherever they appear.
Meet The Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea), also known as the Black-naped Blue Monarch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers found in southern and south-eastern Asia. This species is usually found in thick forests and other well-wooded habitats.
This striking bird wears an elegant and chic coat of blue gem color, making it stand out from the crowd. Not just that, white feathers on the belly and a distinctive black patch on the back of the head also make it more conspicuous. They are sexually dimorphic, with the male having a distinctive black patch on the back of the head and a narrow black half collar (“necklace”), while the female is duller with olive brown wings and lacking the black markings on the head.
They have a distinctive call, similar to the Asian paradise flycatcher bird, which means they are known to join in pairs and make mixed-species foraging flocks. It is insectivorous, often ʜᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ by flycatching. When alarmed or alert, the nape feathers are raised into a pointed crest. They join mixed-species foraging flocks, being among the most significant members of such flocks in the Western Ghats, and are active in the understory of forest canopies.
The main breeding season in India is in summer from May to July. Two to three eggs are laid in a cup nest placed in the fork of a tree. The cup is lined with filaments of webbing and fungi including those of the genus Marasmius which are known to produce antibiotics and may benefit the birds by protecting the young from ɪɴꜰᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. The nest is built by the female while the male guards.
