Rock thrush explained

The rock thrushes, Monticola, are a genus of chats, medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous songbirds. All are Old World birds, and most are associated with mountainous regions.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie in 1822.^{[1] [2]} Monticola is the Latin word for mountain-dweller or mountaineer.^[3] The genus was formerly included in the thrush family Turdidae.^[4] Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2004 and 2010 showed that the species are more closely related to members of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.^{[5] [6]}

The genus contains the following species:^[7]

• White-winged cliff chat, Monticola semirufus (formerly in Thamnolaea)^[8]
• Cape rock thrush, Monticola rupestris
• Sentinel rock thrush, Monticola explorator
• Short-toed rock thrush, Monticola brevipes
• Miombo rock thrush, Monticola angolensis
• Common rock thrush, Monticola saxatilis
• Little rock thrush, Monticola rufocinereus
• Blue rock thrush, Monticola solitarius
• Chestnut-bellied rock thrush, Monticola rufiventris
• Blue-capped rock thrush, Monticola cinclorhyncha
• White-throated rock thrush, Monticola gularis
• Littoral rock thrush, Monticola imerina
• Forest rock thrush, Monticola sharpei
  • Benson's rock thrush, Monticola sharpei bensoni
• Amber Mountain rock thrush, Monticola erythronotus (split from M. sharpei)

Fossil record

Monticola pongraczi (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) ^[9]

Further reading

• Outlaw . R.K. . Voelker . G. . Outlaw . D.C. . 2007 . Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the Rock-thrushes (Muscicapidae: Monticola) . The Auk . 124 . 2 . 561–577 . 10.1642/0004-8038(2007)124[561:MSAHBO]2.0.CO;2 . free .

External links

• Rock thrush videos on the Internet Bird Collection

Notes and References

1. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Paynter . Raymond A. Jr. . 1964 . Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 135 .
2. Boie . F. . 1822 . Ueber Classification, insonderheit der europäischen Vogel . Isis von Oken . 10–11 . Col. 552 . de .
3. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 260 .
4. Book: Dickinson . E.C. . 2003 . The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World . 3rd . London . Christopher Helm . 978-0-7136-6536-9 .
5. Voelker . G. . Spellman . G.M. . 2004 . Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA evidence of polyphyly in the avian superfamily Muscicapoidea . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 30 . 2 . 386–394 . 10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00191-X . 14715230 .
6. 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 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008 . 20656044.
7. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . January 2023 . Chats, Old World flycatchers . IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 7 February 2023.
8. Zuccon . D. . Ericson . Per G.P. . 2010 . The Monticola rock-thrushes: phylogeny and biogeography revisited . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 55 . 3 . 901–910 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2010.01.009 . 20079862.
9. Kessler, E. 2013. Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. – Hantkeniana, Budapest, 2013, 8: 37-149.