Bird of the Month: Spectacled Monarch October 2021
Speccy Mon is here! A very special, brave little bird, (and a Victorian Mega) who had the good form to stay for an entire four days!
Speccy Mon was found in the afternoon of Tuesday 5 October by Chrissy Freestone and George Appleby, who had come to Mallacoota looking for the Striated Heron* found by Martin Butterfield the week earlier.
*More about Sheron next month
The Spectacled Monarch is a small bird of the rainforest, wet gullies and wet eucalyptus forests of the north and east coast of Australia. They are usually seen in the low to mid levels of the forest, catching insects, and apparently not too shy.
The normal range of the Spectacled Monarch is the coastal forests of Queensland and northern NSW. Sightings are common on Cape York (subspecies albiventris – resident) and around Cairns & Bowen (subspecies melanorrhoa – possibly resident). From Mackay to the mid north coast of NSW subspecies gouldii breeds, and sightings are fairly common to Myall Lakes NSW, uncommon south to Jervis Bay, and very very uncommon further south.
But much of this bird’s normal breeding range was burnt in the Black Summer fires.
Why is it here? They are migratory birds (particularly this subspecies) so perhaps this one is checking out new horizons. Maybe the bird found its old breeding area burnt out. Or maybe food availability has been poor, and this bird has kept flying until it found richer pickings.
This isn’t the first time this species has been seen in Victoria, but it is the first time its been recorded for Mallacoota, and the first time a Spectacled Monarch has been seen in Victoria, by multiple observers, over four days.
I don’t think it’s likely, but if anyone sees this bird doing anything that could be a sign of breeding – ie. carrying a twig, feather or moss, two birds interacting, even strong and persistent calling, please let us know. If this bird finds a mate and stays to breed it will be very exciting. (note: if anyone finds this bird on a nest, please do not publish the location. If you wish you can send details to Martin Butterfield privately – he can help to limit disturbance)
In New Guinea, Timor and the Moluccas there are other subspecies of this bird.
This bird is part of the subspecies gouldii which is migratory, arriving in Australia about September and leaving about March. This tiny creature has flown over, possibly from Timor or Indonesia.
Other times this species has come to Vic and been seen are:
Dec 1977 Point Addis RAOU Observer code 62
Oct 1979 Orbost Bendoc Road, 5km from Bendoc by Chris Belcher
Dec 1999 Wingan Inlet, East Gippsland (observer name not supplied) source: VBA: Victorian Biodiversity Atlas
Male and female adults look the same. Juveniles have white on the face in front of the eye, pale base to the bill, and lack the black mask. The head starts grey, wings are brown. as they approach adult the head darkens starting from below the eye and cheek area. See pics of juveniles and immatures here: https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=spemon1&mediaType=p&sort=rating_rank_desc&age=i,j
LISTEN TO THE CALLS and scroll through to see lots of great pics here: https://ebird.org/species/spemon1?siteLanguage=en_AU
Details: Spectacled Monarch Symposiachrus trivirgatus gouldii
3 subspecies, gouldii is the most southern and is migratory. Other two subspecies melanorrhoa and albiventris are probably resident in Qld.
Location: coastal eastern and north-eastern Australia. Mostly Qld and northern NSW, but occasionally ventures south to Sydney, and rarely further south.
Conservation status/learn more: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/spectacled-monarch
Thanks to Dan Pendavingh, Alex Holmes, Kayleen Bilson, John Hutchison, Chrissy Freestone & George Appleby for finding the bird, and Martin Butterfield for your wonderful pics and information.
More information on Graeme Chapmans wonderful site
And this is the VBA: https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/biodiversity/victorian-biodiversity-atlas
Mallacoota Birds 