Monticola brevipes
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The short-toed rock thrush (Monticola brevipes) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Birds in the eastern part of its range are sometimes regarded as a separate species, the Pretoria rock thrush or Transvaal rock thrush (M. pretoriae).
Short-toed rock thrush - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Short-toed rock-thrush Structured guide to the species in southern Africa Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush sighting in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 84th most-seen of the 122 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. That is one of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 40 mm in January. May has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Short-toed Rock-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Short-toed Rock-Thrush sightings, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 20%) and Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Short-toed Rock-Thrush that you can see in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Mariqua Flycatcher (about 60%), Kalahari Scrub Robin (about 50%) and Familiar Chat (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Short-toed Rock-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (17 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
