Monticola saxatilis
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), also known as the rufous-tailed rock thrush or simply rock thrush, is a species of chat that breeds in southern Europe across Central Asia to northern China. This species is strongly migratory, all populations wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. It is an uncommon visitor to northern Europe. Its range has contracted somewhat at the periphery in recent decades due to habitat destruction. For example, in the early 20th century it bred in the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska (Poland) where none occur today, but it is not considered globally endangered. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 75 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 170th most-seen of the 341 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.
November to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months. Those are among Samburu National Reserve's wettest months, with about 45 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in September.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-tailed 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.
11th of 26
Of the 26 parks where we can rate Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Mongolia, about 30%), Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 20%) and Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush that you can see in Samburu National Reserve (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Spotted Morning-Thrush (about 50%), African Gray Flycatcher (about 40%) and White-browed Scrub Robin (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Samburu National Reserve (75 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.
