Long thought to be a member of the mudnest builder family Corcoracidae, the magpie-lark and torrent lark have been reclassified in the family Monarchidae (the monarch flycatchers). The two make up a lineage that split off early from other monarchs and has no close relatives within the family.[2]
The monarch flycatchers are considered either as a subfamily Monarchinae, together with the fantails as part of the drongo family Dicruridae,[3] or as a family Monarchidae in its own right.[4] More broadly, they belong to the Corvidaparvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, fairy-wrens and honeyeaters as well as crows.[5]
^"Monarchidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^Andersen, M.J.; Hosner, P.A.; Filardi, C.E.; Moyle, R.G. (2015). "Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 83: 118–36. Bibcode:2015MolPE..83..118A. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.11.010. PMID25463752.
^Christidis L, Boles WE (1994). The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Melbourne: RAOU.
^Christidis L, Boles WE (2008). Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing. p. 174. ISBN978-0-643-06511-6.