Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies
Common Rock Thrush
Monticola saxatilis
- Family
- Chats, Old World Flycatchers, and Allies (Muscicapidae)
- Order
- Passeriformes
Overview
The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis), also known as the rufous-tailed rock thrush or simply rock thrush, is a species of chat that breeds in southern Europe across Central Asia to northern China. This species is strongly migratory, all populations wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. It is an uncommon visitor to northern Europe. Its range has contracted somewhat at the periphery in recent decades due to habitat destruction.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Range and habitat
Breeds rocky regions of southern Palearctic region; winters to eastern Africa.
Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.
Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- China
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- DR Congo
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritania
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Poland
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Common rock thrush
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
