Monticola brevipes
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 47th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Short-toed Rock-Thrush in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, July and September–October, the lowest months. Those are among Waterberg Plateau Park's wettest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against almost none in May. April and June have 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.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Short-toed Rock-Thrush sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come 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 Waterberg Plateau Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Scrub Robin (about 50%), Familiar Chat (about 50%) and Kalahari Scrub Robin (about 20%), 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 Waterberg Plateau Park (36 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.
