Meet The Black-Naped Monarch – The Bright Blue Flying Gem (12 Pics & Video)

Meet The Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea), also known as the Black-naped Blue Monarch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the family of monarch flycatchers found in southern and south-eastern Asia.

The black-naped monarch has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous, often hunting by flycatching. When alarmed or alert, the nape feathers are raised into a pointed crest. They join mixed-species foraging flocks, being among the most significant members of such flocks in the Western Ghats, and are active in the understory of forest canopies. A study in Sri Lanka showed that they are affected by human disturbance causing them to recede from disturbed edges by about 75 m.