The pied monarch was described by John Gould in 1851, who deliberated on placing it in a genus by itself on account of its feet and eye ring.

[6] Molecular research in the late 1980s and early 1990s revealed the monarchs belong to a large group of mainly Australasian birds known as the Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines.

[3] The pied monarch is found in tropical forest edge habitats and secondary growth in coastal north eastern Queensland, from Cooktown to Ingham.

[4] The pied monarch is insectivorous, with beetles (Coleoptera) and moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) being recorded in its diet.

One foraging method typical to the genus is to climb up trunks and the larger branches in the manner of a treecreeper (Climacteris) and probing the bark and lichens, but they also catch prey from the air.

The nest is a shallow cup made of vines and sticks, woven together with spider webs and shredded plant material, and decorated with lichen on the outside.

It is generally sited on a hanging loop of vine well away from the trunk or foliage of a sizeable tree about 2–10 metres (6.6–32.8 ft) above the ground.