Black-naped Blue Flycatcher

Common name of a species of monarch flycatcher, which is also commonly known as Black-naped Monarch, and with the binomial designation Hypothymis azurea. Unlike members of the large family of Old World flycatchers, distant relatives that are placed in the family of Muscicapidae, monarch flycatchers are listed in the family Monarchidae. In Thai, this passerine bird is known as nok jab malaeng juk dam (นกจับแมลงจุกดำ), i.e. ‘black tufted insect catching bird’. Adult males of the nominate race are about 16 centimeters long and −except for a whitish lower belly− are mostly pale azure blue, with a black nape and a narrow black collar-like patch on the throat. Adult females are duller, with a greyish-brown back and wings, and they lack the black markings of the males. However, there are several subspecies that differ in the extent and shade of markings. The Black-naped Blue Flycatcher occurs over most of South Asia and Southeast Asia, while in Thailand, the commonly found race is known by the scientific name Hypothymis azurea montana. 回