Blue Rock Thrush

Blue Rock Thrush
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Monticola solitarius

Malay Name: Tarum Biasa

Chinese Name: 蓝矶鸫

Range: Found from southern Europe to Northwest Africa, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: solitarius, longirostris, pandoo, philippensis, madoci.

Local Subspecies: philippensis, pandoo

Size: 21-23 cm

Identification: Non-breeding male has dull greyish-blue plumage with blackish and white bars/scales and distinctive chestnut lower breast to vent while breeding male is bluer overall and lacks bars/scales. Female and juvenile resemble male but lack the chestnut plumage.

Habitat: Forest and mostly in urban areas.

Behaviour/Ecology: Attracted to gardens located in high-rise buildings.

Local Status: Rare migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Sep 2022, Dec 2022, Jan 2023, Sep 2023, Oct 2023, Nov 2023, Dec 2023, May 2024, Aug 2024, Sep 2024, Dec 2024, Jan 2025, Mar 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024 (all records)
Peak week Dec 24-Dec 30
Early date 30 Aug 2024
Late date 02 May 2024
A bird with an affinity for high-rise gardens in Singapore, as well as one of the earlier migrants, with many records in Sep. Look out for the rarer pandoo race, which has all-blue underparts.
Male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Subadult male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Jonathan Cheah
Male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Male Blue Rock Thrush at Pinnacle@Duxton. Photo Credit: Alan Ng
Subadult male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Jonathan Cheah
Subadult male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Jonathan Cheah
Male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Francis Yap
Male Blue Rock Thrush at Pinnacle@Duxton. Photo Credit: Alan Ng

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Blue Rock-Thrush)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Monticola solitarius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22708286A87933903.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Vol. 1). Academic Press, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Blue Rock Thrush. Retrieved on April 26, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/blue-rock-thrush.

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