Black-naped Monarch

The black-naped monarch is a small monarch flycatcher about 16cm long. The male is mainly pale azure blue with a whitish lower belly, a distinctive black patch on the back of the head and a narrow black half-collar across the throat. The female is duller, with grey-brown wings and back and no black on the head. Populations differ in the extent and shade of these markings; males of the Sri Lankan race lack the black nape. Its call is a sharp, abrupt skrip (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds across tropical southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka to Indonesia and the Philippines and is usually found in thick forest. In tropical forest pairs often join mixed-species feeding flocks. SoIB 2023 lists it as a resident forest bird in India with movements within the country and a large range, finds its current trend stable, and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).