Grey monjita
The grey monjita is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The grey monjita has a complicated taxonomic history. It was formally described in 1816 as Tyrannus cinereus. It was later moved to genus Nengetus that had been erected in 1827. Throughout most of the twentieth century it was assigned to genus Xolmis. Studies published in 2018 and 2020 showed that it should be returned to Nengetus and taxonomic systems began moving it there in 2021. However, as of December 2024 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retained the species in Xolmis. Because the reassignment to Nengetus and other reassignments from Xolmis resulted in species of several genera having the English name "monjita", the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society is seeking a proposal to consider English name changes.The grey monjita is the only species in genus Nengetus. It has two subspecies, the nominate N. c. cinereus and N. c. pepoaza.
Description
The grey monjita is long and weighs. The sexes have the same plumage and the two subspecies are essentially alike. Adults have a mouse-gray or dusky grayish crown, a wide white stripe from the lores to above the eye, and a thin white "moustache" with a wider black stripe below it. Their upperparts are mouse-gray or dusky grayish. Their wings are black with wide white bases to the primaries that show in flight. Their wing coverts have white tips and the tertials have white edges. Their tail is black with wide white tips on the feathers. Their throat is white, their breast ashy gray, and their belly white. Juveniles have a brown tinge to the gray. Adults have a bright red iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.Distribution and habitat
The nominate subspecies of the grey monjita has a small isolated population in southern Suriname's Sipaliwini Savanna. It main range extends from Amapá in northeastern Brazil south in eastern Brazil to Rio Grande do Sul and beyond through Uruguay and into northeastern Argentina's Misiones Province. Subspecies N. c. pepoaza is found from the Pampas del Heath in extreme southeastern Peru's Madre de Dios Department east and south through northern and eastern Bolivia, southern Mato Grosso do Sul in west-central Brazil, and Paraguay into Argentina as far south as Tucumán and northern Buenos Aires provinces. The species inhabits grassland and cerrado, where it sometimes is found around human structures and settlements. In migration it often is seen in cities. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about.Behavior
Movement
The grey monjita is a year-round resident in most or all of its range. There is some evidence that some of the southernmost move north for the austral winter.Feeding
The grey monjita feeds on insects. It perches in the open on fences, wires, and bushes and takes most prey by dropping on it from the perch. Less often it takes it by running on the ground and in mid-air.