Species Spotlight

Species Spotlight: Black-naped Monarch

December 19, 2025 by Kai Pflug No Comments

Given the substantial attention that has been given to birds named after fairly disgusting people –McCown’s Longspur, anyone – it is surprising nobody has yet suggested changing the name of the Black-naped Monarch.

It is undeniably a beautiful bird, but what does its name align the species with?

For one thing, with stupidity: with yellow-press monarchs with silly love lives and without any power except the one to draw tourists and sell women’s magazines. The UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Japan are all good examples. Is this something a bird species should try to emulate?

But there are far worse associations – those with real kings, as those of Eswatini (a country with one of the lowest life expectancies in the world and a king with 11 wives) or Saudi Arabia (with a crown prince who has butchered a critical journalist).

So, why should it be acceptable for the Black-naped Monarch to represent an outdated and undemocratic system of government? Wouldn’t it be much better to give the species a name that represents the ideals of liberty, equality, and… you know, of not being a monarch?

A change is long overdue. We suggest renaming the bird to Black-naped Democrat or Black-naped Representative. Promoting democracy should not stop outside of the pages of a bird guide.

Note: And yes, all the kings of the bird world (King Eider, kingfishers, kingbirds, king parrots, King Penguin, King of Saxony Bird-of-Paradise, etc) will be next. But perhaps the Emperor Penguin needs to be dealt with first.

Photos taken at Lung Sin hide, Kaeng Krachan, Thailand, July 2025

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for more than 21 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.