page_title: Monarch flycatcher
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Monarch flycatcher / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Pale-blue Monarch Hypothymis puella (syn. Hypothymis azurea puella). Tangkoko Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, 11 July 2006.
context_page_description: The monarchs 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 across sub-Saharan Africa, south-east Asia, Australasia and a number of Pacific islands. Only a few species migrate. Many species decorate their cup-shaped nests with lichen.
context_section_description: The monarchs are generally monogamous, with the pair bonds ranging from just a single season (as in the African paradise flycatcher) to life (the Elepaio). Only three species are known to engage in cooperative breeding; but many species are as yet unstudied. They are generally territorial, defending territories that are around 2 ha in size, but a few species may cluster their nesting sites closely together. Nesting sites may also be chosen close to aggressive species, for example leaden flycatchers nests may be located near the nests of the aggressive noisy friarbird. The nests are in turn often aggressively defended by monarch species. In all species the nest is an open cup on a branch, fork or twig. In some species the nests can be highly conspicuous.
caption: Female pale-blue monarch on a nest constructed on a fork in a tree.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS-1D Mark II N", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2007:06:24 00:23:47", "Image WhitePoint": "313/1000", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "16/25", "Image ExifOffset": "304", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/25", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:07:11 09:52:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:07:11 09:52:42", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "37/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "510", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "800", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "640", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "108000/71", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "32000/21", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Gamma": "11/5"}