Monticola solitarius
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naha | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Busan | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 3 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | |
| 4 | Osaka | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 5 | Naples | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 6 | Hiroshima | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 7 | Kitakyushu | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 8 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 9 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 10 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Zoopark Limpopo | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Rock-Thrush sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 147 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.
May and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Rock-Thrush in Taroko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–September and December–April, the lowest months.
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.
16th of 27
Of the 27 parks where we can rate Blue Rock-Thrush sightings, Taroko National Park ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 30%), Khao Yai National Park (Thailand, about 30%) and Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Blue Rock-Thrush that you can see in Taroko National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Collared Bush-Robin (about 40%), Plumbeous Water Redstart (about 30%) and Formosan Whistling-Thrush (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Rock-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Taroko National Park (49 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.
