Grey Monjita

About the Grey Monjita

The grey monjita (Nengetus cinereus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Uruguay. 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 (Vieillot, 1816) and N. c. pepoaza (Vieillot, 1823). The grey monjita... Wikipedia →