also known as the Black-naped Blue Flycatcher

Hypothymis azurea

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Nallamalla Forest Range & Ananthagiri Forest Range, Telangana & Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

The Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea), also known as Black-naped Blue Flycatcher, belongs to the family of monarch flycatchers, the Monarchidae. The monarch species is distributed in Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, Taiwan and China. They are an insectivorous species, often hunting by flycatching. These monarch species are polytypic species. But first about where these birds were photographed - some in the Nallamalla forest range and some from the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand.

Nallamalla Forest Range

Located in the central stretch of the Deccan Plateau, Telangana has sub-tropical climate and the terrain consists mostly of hills, mountain ranges, and thick dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km². The annual rainfall ranges between 1,100 mm to 1,200 mm and the annual temperature varies from 15 C to 45 C. The State is drained by a number of rivers which include Godavari and Krishna.

Telangana is endowed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has dense teak forests on the northern part along the banks of river Godavari. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Telangana belong to three Forest Type groups, which are further divided into 12 Forest Types. The State Government has taken up a massive greening programme, 'Telangana Ku Harita Haram' in the State to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over a period of 4 years. This initiative aims at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the forest cover and reduce pressure on the existing forest resources, through massive community participation by Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSS) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in Protected Areas and Watershed Development Committees in the Watershed areas. Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 26,904 km² of which 20,353 km² is Reserved Forest, 5,939 km² is Protected Forest and 612 km² is Unclassed Forests. In Telangana, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 9,420 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF & CC, 2019). As per the information received from the State during that last two years, 12,730 ha of plantations including avenue plantations in the State.

Three National Parks and nine Wildlife Sanctuaries constitute the Protected Area network of the State covering 5.08% of its geographical area and our focus area today is the northern fringe of the Nallamalla forest located both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is part of the Eastern Ghats. The Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, the largest tiger reserve in India spread over the five districts of Kurnool, Prakasam, Guntur, Nalgonda and Mahabub Nagar falls in its precincts.

Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand

After the plateau of the Deccan we now head into the dense rain forest on the eastern slope of the Tenasserim Mountain Range in the Kaeng Krachan National Park where the Pranburi & Phetchaburi Rivers originate. Kaeng Krachan National Park is the largest national park of Thailand on the border with Burma, contiguous with the Tanintharyi Nature Reserve.

The park was declared a reserve in 1964 and on 12 June 1981 it became the 28th national park of Thailand. Originally covering an area of 2,478 km², it was enlarged in December 1984 to include the boundary area between Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan Provinces, an additional 300,000 rai. The park has been included in the list of ASEAN Heritage Parks. Since 2011, Thailand has proposed that Unesco designate Kaeng Krachan National Park a world heritage site.

Read about my other flycatchers here:

1. Old World Flycatchers

2. Niltava

3. Siberian Rubythroat

4. Verditer Flycatcher

Read about the other birds from the Kaeng Krachan National Park.

Black-naped Monarch/ Black-naped Blue Flycatcher

You will love reading about this beautiful Black-naped Monarch. The black-naped monarch (Hypothymis azurea), also known as the black-naped flycatcher, lives in countries in south Asia. It prefers living in tropical forested areas but can also be found in areas with sufficient wood habitats. It is a beautiful bird that is pale blue with black markings. These monarch flycatchers got their name due to the presence of their black nape. Even though the male and female monarch flycatchers have a difference in their appearance, both look extremely attractive. Their grayish-brown wings and the patch on the back of their heads make them stand out. To add to this, the black-naped blue monarch flycatchers are social birds. These mainly pale blue birds show monogamous behaviour. After mating, around two to three eggs are laid in a nest made by females. The males take care of guarding the nest.

The black-naped monarch (Hypothymis azurea) is a small monarch, measuring 15 to 17 cm in length and weighing 9 to 13 grams. These species are sexually dimorphic. The black-naped monarch male has pale azure blue head, face, upperparts, wings, throat and breast. There is a blackish patch on the nape and a blackish half collar at the throat. The forehead and chin have a small blackish patch near the bill.

The gape is surrounded by rows of long rictal bristles. The belly and vent region are white. The tail is long and the undertail is grayish. The female has grayish blue head and grayish brown upperparts. The throat and breast are grayish and the underparts are whitish.

The bill is blue in male and gray in female. The irises are dark brown. The feet are bluish gray in males and gray in female. The call of these monarch species is a sharp, clear ringing "we-we-we-we" sound.

These black-naped monarch species are distributed in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (H. a. ceylonensis), Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan (H. a. oberholseri) and China.

In India, these monarch species are distributed in most of the states except arid regions of Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. These species also occur in Andaman (H. a. tytleri) and Nicobar (H. a. idiochroa and H. a. nicobarica) Islands.

These black-naped monarch species have moderate forest dependence. They normally occur in altitudes from 0 to 1500 meters. The artificial ecosystems and habitats of these species include heavily degraded forests and plantations. The natural ecosystems and habitats of these monarch species include tropical and subtropical dry forests, broadleaf evergreen forests, tropical and subtropical moist lowland forests, mangrove forests, riverine forests, rivers and streams. The diet of these black-naped monarch species consists mainly of insects. Flying insects, grasshoppers, moths, beetles, flying termites and ants, wasps and bees are their primary food. They hawk flying insects.

The black-naped monarch has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous, often hunting 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. A study in Sri Lanka showed that they are affected by human disturbance causing them to recede from disturbed edges by about 75 m.

The breeding season of these black-naped monarch species is from March to September in India. The laying season is from March to August in southeast Asia. The breeding season is from April to July in Taiwan. These monarch species are monogamous and territorial. The nesting site is usually a fork of a tree branch. The nest is a compact conical structure made with grass, twigs and rootlets and bound with spiderweb. The nest is covered with cobwebs and spider egg cases.

Twenty-three subspecies are recognized:

• H. a. styani - (Hartlaub, 1899): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Ficedula, found from India and Nepal to southeast China and Vietnam. The abdomen is whitish in males.

• H. a. oberholseri - Stresemann, 1913: Found in Taiwan

• H. a. ceylonensis - Sharpe, 1879: Originally described as a separate species, found in Sri Lanka. The males lack the black necklace.

• H. a. tytleri - (Beavan, 1867): Originally described as a separate species in the genus Myiagra. Found in the Andaman Islands. The abdomen of males is blue.

• H. a. idiochroa - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Car Nicobar (northern Nicobar Islands). The abdomen of males is white tinged with blue.

• H. a. nicobarica - Bianchi, 1907: Found on southern Nicobar Islands. The abdomen of males is white tinged with blue.

• H. a. montana - Riley, 1929: Found in northern and central Thailand

• H. a. galerita - (Deignan, 1956), 1929: Found in southwest and southeast Thailand

• H. a. forrestia - Oberholser, 1911: Found in Mergui Archipelago (off western Myanmar)

• H. a. prophata - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo

• H. a. javana - Chasen & Kloss, 1929: Found on Java and Bali (Indonesia)

• H. a. penidae - Meise, 1942: Found on Nusa Penida (near Bali in the Lesser Sundas)

• H. a. karimatensis - Chasen & Kloss, 1932: Found on Karimata Island (off western Borneo)

• H. a. opisthocyanea - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Anambas Islands (in the South China Sea)

• H. a. gigantoptera - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Natuna Besar (Natuna Islands, South China Sea)

• H. a. consobrina - Richmond, 1902: Originally described as a separate species, found on Simeulue (off north-western Sumatra)

• H. a. leucophila - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Siberut (off western Sumatra)

• H. a. richmondi - Oberholser, 1911: Found on Enggano Island (off south-western Sumatra)

• H. a. abbotti - Richmond, 1902: Originally described as a separate species, found on Reusam and Babi Islands (off north-western Sumatra)

• H. a. symmixta - Stresemann, 1913: Found on western and central Lesser Sundas

• Philippine black-naped monarch (H. a. azurea) - (Boddaert, 1783): Also known as the black-capped monarch and Philippine black-naped blue monarch. Found in Philippines (except Camiguin Sur Island)

• H. a. aeria - Bangs & Peters, JL, 1927: Originally described as a separate species, found on Maratua Island (off eastern Borneo)

• H. a. catarmanensis - Rand & Rabor, 1969: Found on Camiguin Sur Island (southern Philippines)

The global population size of the black-naped monarch (Hypothymis azurea) has not been quantified. The overall population trend of the species is considered to be stable.

In most of its range, this species is reported to be widespread and common. The generation length is 4.2 years. Its distribution size is about 19,800,000 km².

And now onto the video and photo of this exquisite flycatcher.

These birds were photographed in and around the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand and the temple complex of Uma Maheshwaram in the state of Telangana. The Uma Maheshwaram temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva located in the Nallamala Forest around 100 km from Hyderabad on the Hyderabad-Srisailam highway, about 4 kms from the village of Rangapur, Achampet.

Uma Maheshwaram is the northern gateway of Srisailam — one of the jyotirlingas, on a hill surrounded by high trees. Nearby hills shield the Uma Maheshwaram temple and the 500-metre stretch to PapaNasanam from sunlight for most of the day, maintaining a temperature lower than the surroundings through out the year. The area abounds in flora and fauna like this beautiful Black-naped Monarch and the fast disappearing Yellow-throated Bulbul.

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For a print of the beautiful birds from my various sojourns click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.

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These following photos are of the male and female Black-naped Monarch, the female especially was photographed just after she had played in a little puddle amongst the rocks near us and was wet.

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