Blue Rock-Thrush

Blue Rock-Thrush

Monticola solitarius

Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Algiers

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

12 Verified sightings at Algiers
3,912 In all 27 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

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: Wikipedia →

Sounds

Begging call0:28

Malaysia · 2026

© Lim Ying Hien 林勇贤 · XC1085120 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:44

Italy · 2025

© Michael John O Mahony · XC1048138 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:19

China · 2023

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC842217 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
2 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~30%
3 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~10%
4 Jiuzhaigou National Park 🇨🇳 China
~10%
5 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
6 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
7 Hemis National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
10 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
11 Khao Sok National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
12 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
13 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
14 Mudumalai National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
15 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
16 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
<5%
17 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
18 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
19 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
20 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
21 Periyar National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
22 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
23 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
24 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
25 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
26 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
27 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Naha 🇯🇵 Japan
~50%
2 Busan 🇰🇷 South Korea
~20%
3 Algiers 🇩🇿 Algeria
~20%
4 Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan
~20%
5 Naples 🇮🇹 Italy
~20%
6 Hiroshima 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
7 Kitakyushu 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
8 Davao City 🇵🇭 Philippines
~10%
9 Đà Nẵng 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
10 Kaohsiung 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Ueno Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
2 Zoopark Limpopo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Blue Rock-Thrush in Algiers?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Rock-Thrush sighting in Algiers on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 49 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Blue Rock-Thrush in Algiers?

May, September and December–February

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Rock-Thrush in Algiers on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and October–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Blue Rock-Thrush?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Rock-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Algiers the best place to see a Blue Rock-Thrush?

3rd of 45

Of the 45 cities where we can rate Blue Rock-Thrush sightings, Algiers ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Naha (Japan, about 50%) and Busan (South Korea, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Blue Rock-Thrush live in Algiers?

Same family: Muscicapidae

The closest relatives of the Blue Rock-Thrush that you can see in Algiers (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are European Robin (about 30%), Spotted Flycatcher (about 10%) and Black Redstart (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Blue Rock-Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Blue Rock-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Algiers (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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