Blue Rock-Thrush
Monticola solitarius
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyMuscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats)
- GenusMonticola (Rock-Thrushes)
- SpeciesMonticola solitarius (Blue Rock-Thrush)
About the Blue Rock-Thrush
The blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. The blue rock thrush is the official national bird of Malta.
The blue rock thrush was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Turdus solitarius. The type locality is Italy. The scientific name is from Latin. Monticola is from mons, montis "mountain", and colere, "to dwell", and the specific epithet solitarius means "solitary".
The rock thrush genus Monticola was formerly placed in the family Turdidae but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the species in the genus are more closely related to members of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
There are five recognised subspecies: M. s. solitarius (Linnaeus, 1758) – northwest Africa, south Europe, north Turkey to Georgia and Azerbaijan. M. s. longirostris (Blyth, 1847) – Greece and west and south Turkey through the Middle East to the northwest Himalayas to northeast Africa and India
M. s. pandoo... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Blue Rock-Thrush in Kaziranga National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Kaziranga National Park
Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush
Monticola rufiventris
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
Siberian Stonechat
Saxicola maurus
Taiga Flycatcher
Ficedula albicilla
White-rumped Shama
Copsychus malabaricus
Pale-chinned Blue-Flycatcher
Cyornis poliogenys
Small Niltava
Niltava macgrigoriae
Blue-and-white Flycatcher
Cyanoptila cyanomelana
Little Pied Flycatcher
Ficedula westermanni
Black Redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros
Daurian Redstart
Phoenicurus auroreus
Blue Whistling-Thrush
Myophonus caeruleus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Blue Rock-Thrush in Kaziranga National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Rock-Thrush sighting in Kaziranga National Park, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Blue Rock-Thrush in Kaziranga National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Blue Rock-Thrush in Kaziranga National Park in our monthly data.