The chestnut-bellied monarch (''Monarcha castaneiventris'') or chestnut-bellied monarch-flycatcher is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Monarchidae The monarchs (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivorous songbirds with long tails. They inhabit forest or woodland a ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

Subspecies

Four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized: * ''M. c. castaneiventris'' - Verreaux, 1858: Found on Choiseul, Santa Isabel,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

and

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

* ''M. c. obscurior'' - Mayr, 1935: Found on Russell Islands * Makira monarch (''M. c. megarhynchus'') -

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in Hamburg, Germany on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrator Claudia Bernadine E ...

, 1908: Found on Makira * Makira monarch (''M. c. ugiensis'') - ( Ramsay, EP, 1882): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''

Pomarea ''Pomarea'' is a genus of birds in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. The genus is restricted to the islands of Polynesia. The monarchs of this genus are around 15–19 cm long and most have sexually dimorphic plumage. Taxonomy and ...

''. Found on

Ugi Island Ugi Island, also Uki Island (or Uki Ni Masi), is an island in Solomon Islands; it is located in Makira-Ulawa Province and lies 11 km north of Makira Island. Geography Ugi Island is a raised coral reef about 10.5 km long and 6.5 km ...

Behaviour and ecology

In 2009, it was reported that a genetic change in some members of this species caused their colouration and songs to be different from other members of the species. As a result, members in one group did not recognize members in the other, so the two groups became reproductively isolated from each other. It was thought that over time, this could eventually lead to the creation of a

new species A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

, and that this was an example of biological evolution.Beautiful plumage: Feather color and sex start the species revolution
eurekalert.org, August 5, 2009

References

chestnut-bellied monarch The chestnut-bellied monarch (''Monarcha castaneiventris'') or chestnut-bellied monarch-flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. Subspecies Four subspecies are recognized: * ''M. c. castan ...

Endemic birds of the Solomon Islands

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Solomons-stub