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19

Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola solitarius) German name(s): "Blaumerle" Size: 21-23 cm Weight: 37-70 g

Europe: Family Group 19 Family Group 19 Table European Robin Common Redstart Black Redstart Bluethroat Whinchat European Stonechat Common Rock Thrush Blue Rock Thrush Common Nightingale Northern Wheatear Isabelline Wheatear Black-eared Wheatear Black Wheatear White-throated Dipper Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Blue Rock Thrushes are relatively large flycatchers. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Males are bluish-grey all over, except the wings, which are dark-grey. Females have a grey-brown crown and nape of the neck. The rest of the back, uppertail and upperwings is also homogeneous grey-brown. The front lores, ear coverts and chin downward is finely barred dark grey-brown on lighter brown. Both sexes have dark irises. The long, straight and slender bill is dark-grey; the legs and feet are also dark-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Blue Rock Thrush at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Blue Rock Thrush is available HERE . Blue Rock Thrushes are permanent residents in the near-coastal parts of North-west Africa, in particular the Atlas mountain range, and along the northern Mediterranean near-coastal areas, plus parts of inland Spain, basically all of Italy and all of Greece, plus the western and southern coastline of Asia Minor. They are also found permanently along the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Their distribution continues eastward throughout subtropical Asia to Korea and Japan in the far East. During the summer they extend their breeding range into the higher parts of mountain ranges (Atlas, Alps) and much of Asia Minor (except the central part) right into the Caucasus mountains and further south-eastward. The Asian population (from Asia Minor via western and central Asia to northern China and Malaysia) are migratory, wintering in parts of south-eastern Asia, India, Arabia and sub-Saharan Africa. In Europe Blue Rock Thrushes are sedentary in near-coastal mountainous regions of the Mediterranean, from parts of Iberia, via the Mediterranean islands, the Cote d'Azure, the Apennine mountains in Italy, and the Adriatic coastline to most of Greece and southern Bulgaria. They are found as breeding migrants in some areas of the Alps. Blue Rock Thrushes are often found in mountainous terrain, but are found along rocky coastlines, in quarries, ruins and other stony habitats as well.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports finding Blue Rock Thrushes occasionally in various parts of southern to central Portugal. M. Eaton reports spotting Blue Rock Thrushes in Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, in September 2019. G. Normand found a Blue Rock Thrush at Tete de Chien, Cap d'Ail, Alpes-Maritimes, France, in February 2021. G. Normand also found a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes at Kruje, Albania, in August 2021. More photos presented on this page were taken by D. Wilczynska on the southern slopes of the Caucasus in Georgia in June 2018. A Blue Rock Thrush was previously spotted by us in Oman.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2020]

Frontal view of a male Blue Rock Thrush looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2020]

Near-frontal view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Near-lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2020]

Lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2020]

Lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2020]

Lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush wiping its bill (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mequinenza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, September 2019]

Distant near-dorsal view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

Distant lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush launching itself into the air (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, October 2018]

Impression of the breeding habitat of a Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[June 2018]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female Blue Rock Thrush on a jagged rock (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Kruje, Albania, August 2021]

Lateral portrait of a female Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, February 2020]

Lateral view of a female Blue Rock Thrush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, February 2020]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a male Blue Rock Thrush with its prey, a small insect (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Kruje, Albania, August 2021]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

blurthr_jp_20180607.m4a	(Portugal)	Contact calls?	© JP
blurthr_jp_20220220.mp3	(Portugal)	Contact calls?	© JP

More Blue Rock Thrush sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Thu, 27 April 2023, 20:55 +00:00