Monarch-flycatchers (Monarchidae)

Common Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra alecto) - HBW 11, p. 320

French: Monarque luisant German: Glanzmonarch Spanish: Monarca Reluciente
Other common names: Glossy Flycatcher, Shining Monarch/Monarch-flycatcher, Papuan/New Guinea Flycatcher/Shining-flycatcher, Long-billed Shining Flycatcher, Satinbird

Taxonomy: Drymophila alecto Temminck, 1827, “Celebes”; error = Ternate, Moluccas.
Forms a species pair with M. hebetior; both sometimes placed in a separate genus, Piezorhynchus. Subspecific taxonomy somewhat uncertain; race melvillensis known to intergrade with wardelli on Cape York Peninsula and may not be tenable. Birds from S New Guinea were described as race novaeguineensis, but now considered indistinguishable from chalybeocephalus. Eight subspecies currently recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

alecto (Temminck, 1827) - Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Tidore, Mare, Muor, Moti, Bacan, Damar, Kasinuta and Obi.
chalybeocephalus (Lesson & Garnot, 1828) - W Papuan Is, W, SW & N New Guinea, Karkar I, Bagabag, and Bismarck Archipelago.
manumudari (Rothschild & E. J. O. Hartert, 1915) - Manam I (off NE New Guinea).

See all 8 subspecies

alecto (Temminck, 1827) - Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Tidore, Mare, Muor, Moti, Bacan, Damar, Kasinuta and Obi.
chalybeocephalus (Lesson & Garnot, 1828) - W Papuan Is, W, SW & N New Guinea, Karkar I, Bagabag, and Bismarck Archipelago.
manumudari (Rothschild & E. J. O. Hartert, 1915) - Manam I (off NE New Guinea).
longirostris (Mathews, 1928) - Tanimbar Is.
rufolateralis (G. R. Gray, 1858) - Aru Is.
lucida G. R. Gray, 1858 - E Papuan Is (Trobriand Is, Woodlark I, D’Entrecasteaux Is and Louisiades).
wardelli (Mathews, 1911) - S New Guinea (Trans-Fly region) and NE Australia (S on NE Queensland coast to Fraser I).
melvillensis (Mathews, 1912) - N Australia from NW Western Australia (E from King Sound and coastal Kimberley) E to NE Arnhem Land and C Cape York Peninsula.