Chestnut-bellied Monarch

Monarcha castaneiventris Verreaux, J, 1858

Chestnut-bellied Monarch, Monarcha castaneiventris, is a bird of the Monarchidae family found in the Solomon Islands, from Buka and Bougainville through to Makira, excluding the New Georgia group. It is a passerine endemic to this island chain. Five subspecies are recognised across the northern, central and south-eastern islands, including forms on Buka, Bougainville, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal, Malaita, the Russell Islands, Makira and several smaller islands. One race, erythrostictus, has at times been treated as the Bougainville monarch. In 2009, a genetic change was reported in some birds, affecting their colouration and songs and leaving the two groups reproductively isolated.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Monarchidae — Monarchs

Breeding range

Australasia: Buka and Bougainville to Makira (n, c, s Solomon Is. except New Georgia group)