| Tahiti Monarch | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Monarchidae |
| Genus: | Pomarea |
| Species: | P. nigra |
| Binomial name | |
| Pomarea nigra (Sparrman, 1786) |
|
Pomarea nigra, the Tahiti Monarch or Tahiti Flycatcher, is a rare species of bird in the Monarch flycatcher family. It is endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia. There are fewer than 50 individuals remaining.[1]
This bird is 15 centimeters long and black in color with a pale blue bill. The juvenile is reddish brown. The call sounds like tick-tick-tick and the song is "flute-like".[1]
This bird is found in only four valleys in Tahiti. It lives in the canopy and understory in forests among mara trees (Neonauclea forsteri).[1]
Threats to the species include the degradation of its forest habitat by the invasion of exotic plant species, including Miconia calvescens and Spathodea campanulata. The forest is also degraded by goat activity. Predation by rats and cats is a threat. The Tahiti Kingfisher (Todiramphus veneratus) is a competitor.[1]