Monarch Flycatchers: Monarchidae

Monarch flycatchers usually mate for life and forage, search for food, alone with their mates. Some prefer the company of small groups of their kind and may even have other birds help a mated pair raise their young. Though most species prefer solitude, the males are noisy and make elaborate displays when they wish to attract mates.

Females lay two to four eggs in small, cup-shaped nests, made of plant fibers, lichens (LIE-kenz), moss, and even spider webs. These nests are anchored in the forks of tree branches. Both parents usually incubate the eggs, or sit on them until they are hatched. After fourteen days, the plain brown chicks hatch. Their striking coloring appears after they molt, shed their feathers.