Female Monticola solitarius (Information about this image)
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Cladus: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Muscicapoidea
Familia: Muscicapidae
Genus: Monticola
Species: Monticola solitarius
Subspecies: M. s. longirostris - M. s. madoci - M. s. pandoo - M. s. philippensis - M. s. solitarius
Name
Monticola solitarius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonymy
Turdus solitarius (protonym)
References
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.542: 170. Open access Reference page.
Vernacular names
aragonés: Solitario
العربية: السمنة الشيانية
български: Син скален дрозд
brezhoneg: Savelleg glas
català: Merla blava
corsu: Merula turchina
čeština: Skalník modrý
Deutsch: Blaumerle
English: Blue Rock Thrush
Esperanto: Blua rokturdo
español: Roquero solitario
euskara: Harkaitz-zozo urdin
suomi: Sinirastas
français: Monticole merle-bleu
galego: Merlo solitario
ગુજરાતી: પાન્ડુ શામા
magyar: Kék kövirigó
հայերեն: Կապույտ քարակեռնեխ
italiano: Passero solitario
日本語: イソヒヨドリ
монгол: Цэнхэр жижир
Bahasa Melayu: Burung Murai Batu Tarung
Napulitano: Passagaglio
Nederlands: Blauwe rotslijster
polski: Modrak śródziemnomorski
português: Melro-azul
русский: Синий каменный дрозд
svenska: Blåtrast
ไทย: นกกระเบื้องผา
Türkçe: Gök ardıç kuşu
中文: 蓝矶鸫
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 word for it in Maltese being Merill) and was shown on the Lm 1 coins that were part of the country's former currency.
Taxonomy
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.[2][3] The scientific name is from Latin. Monticola is from mons, montis "mountain", and colere, "to dwell", and the specific epithet solitarius means "solitary".[4]
The rock thrush genus Monticola was formerly placed in the family Turdidae[5] 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.[6]
There are five recognised subspecies:[7][8]
M. s. solitarius (Linnaeus, 1758) – northwest Africa, south Europe, north Turkey to Georgia and Azerbaijan.
M. s. longirostris (Blyth, 1847) – Greece and west and south Turkey through the Middle East to the northwest Himalayas to northeast Africa and India
M. s. pandoo (Sykes, 1832) – central Himalayas to east China and north Vietnam to Greater Sunda Islands
M. s. philippensis (Statius Müller, 1776) – east Mongolia to Sakhalin south to Japan, extreme north Philippines and northeast China to Indonesia
M. s. madoci Chasen, 1940 – Malay Peninsula and north Sumatra
There is a proposal to split Monticola solitarius into two species: a western taxon comprising M. s. solitarius and M. s. longirostris and an eastern taxon with M. s. philippensis, M. s. pandoo and M. s. madoci.[9]
Description
The blue rock thrush is a starling-sized bird, 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 in) in length with a long slim bill. The breeding male of the nominate subspecies is unmistakable, with all blue-grey plumage apart from its darker wings.[8] Females and immatures are much less striking, with dark brown upperparts, and paler brown scaly underparts. The male of the subspecies M. s. philippensis has rufous-chestnut plumage from the mid-breast down to the undertail.[8] Both sexes lack the reddish outer tail feathers of rock thrush.
The male blue rock thrush sings a clear, melodious call that is similar to, but louder than, the call of the rock thrush.
Distribution and habitat
The European, north African and southeast Asian birds are mainly resident, apart from altitudinal movements. Other Asian populations are more migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, India and southeast Asia. This bird is a very uncommon visitor to northern and western Europe. It has only known to have been spotted in North America twice: once in British Columbia in 1997 and once in Oregon in 2024.[10][11]
Behaviour
Blue rock thrush breeds in open mountainous areas. It nests in rock cavities and walls, and usually lays 3-5 eggs. An omnivore, the blue rock thrush eats a wide variety of insects and small reptiles in addition to berries and seeds.[8]
Male Monticola solitarius (Information about this image)
References
BirdLife International (2016). "Monticola solitarius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22708286A87933903. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22708286A87933903.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Vol. 1. Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 170.
Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 138.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 260, 359. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4..
Dickinson, E.C., ed. (2003). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (3rd ed.). London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-0-7136-6536-9.
Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2016). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 6.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
Collar, N. (2020). "Blue Rock-thrush (Monticola solitarius)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.burthr.01. S2CID 216233603. Retrieved 9 July 2016.(subscription required)
Zuccon, D.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2010). "The Monticola rock-thrushes: phylogeny and biogeography revisited". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (3): 901–910. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.009. PMID 20079862.
Eichenberg, Gretchen (May 1, 2024). "Oregon teacher captures images of 'very rare' bird never before seen in US". Foxnews. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
Kuta, Sarah (May 1, 2024). "Extremely Rare Blue Rock Thrush Spotted in Oregon Might Be the First Ever in the United States". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
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