A bird with limited overlap with the similar Frilled Monarch, but his spectacular orange collar sets him apart.

MEET THE OCHRE-COLLARED MONARCH

The ochre-collared monarch or rufous-collared monarch (Arses insularis) is a medium-sized, slender, bird with a fairly long tail and face with a prominent blue eye wattle. He has a white belly, an orange chest, and collar with a long black tail, back, and wings. There are also white patches on the wings.

The bill is grey as are the feet and legs.

The female has a chestnut breast, throat, and collar along with a brown tail, back, and wings looking somewhat duller when compared to the male.

This bird is found in and endemic to Yapen and northern New Guinea

This bird’s natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Primarily insectivorous birds, they often forage in the mid-level stratum of forested regions.

The beginning of the breeding season for this species is thought to vary from region to region when a cup-shaped nest is built using fibers bound together with cobwebs slung between two branches around 3 to 5 meters from ground level.

This bird is regarded as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List