Blue Rock Thrush

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)

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Featured reports: Sep 2022, Dec 2022

Past accepted records in our database:

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Subadult male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Jonathan Cheah

Male Blue Rock Thrush at Pinnacle@Duxton. Photo Credit: Alan Ng

Male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

Male Blue Rock Thrush at Sentosa. Photo Credit: Francis Yap

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