Monticola brevipes
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush sighting in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, May and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush in Namib-Naukluft National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April, June–July and September–January, the lowest months.
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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Short-toed Rock-Thrush sightings, Namib-Naukluft National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 20%), Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 10%) and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Short-toed Rock-Thrush that you can see in Namib-Naukluft National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Familiar Chat (about 60%), Mountain Chat (about 40%) and Chat Flycatcher (about 10%), 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 Namib-Naukluft National Park (19 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.
