Common rock thrush
Monticola saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1766)
The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis) is a bird in the order Passeriformes and the family Muscicapidae, part of the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 50.3 g, with values from 47 g to 52.4 g reported by our sources.
Quick facts about the common rock thrush
This migratory invertivore lives in rocky habitats, has a perching lifestyle and occupies a geographic range of 8.7 million km². It lays 1 clutch per year with 4.25 eggs per clutch, and the IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 47 g – 52.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5 – 4.25src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the common rock thrush
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common rock thrush live?
Not recorded
What is the common rock thrush?
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. For example, in the early 20th century it bred in the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska (Poland) where none occur today, but it is not considered globally endangered.
From the Wikipedia article “Common rock thrush” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_rock_thrush&oldid=1371962947), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common rock thrush endangered?
The common rock thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common rock thrush classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae
- genusMonticola
- SpeciesMonticola saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Monticola cyanus, Monticola saxatalis, Monticola saxatilis saxatilis, Monticola saxatilis turkestanicus, Petrocichla saxatilis, Petrocincla saxatilis, Petrocossyphus gourcyi, Petrocossyphus goureyi, Petrocossyphus polyglottis, Petrocossyphus saxatilis, Sylvia saxatilis, Turdus caeruleus, Turdus cyanus, Turdus saxatilis
Other names and names in other languages (74)
- Common rock-thrushEnglish
- European rock thrushEnglish
- Mountain rock thrushEnglish
- Mountain rock-thrushEnglish
- Rock thrushEnglish
- RTRTEnglish
- Rufous-tailed rock thrushEnglish
- Rufous-tailed rock-thrushEnglish
- سمنة الصخورArabic
- سمنة الصخور الشائعةArabic
- سمنة الصخور صهباء الذيلArabic
- Cudirroya rocaceraAragonese
- roxuAsturian
- Пъстър скален дроздBulgarian
- Savelleg-karregBreton
- Merla roqueraCatalan
- merla roquera comunaCatalan
- skalník zpěvnýCzech
- Brych y GraigWelsh
- Brych Craig CyffredinWelsh
- Brychod y GraigWelsh
- StendrosselDanish
- SteinrötelGerman
- ΠυροκότσυφαςGreek
- ΠυρροκότσυφαςGreek
- roka montikoloEsperanto
- Roquero rojoSpanish
- kivirästasEstonian
- طرقه کوهیPersian
- kivikkorastasFinnish
- Ur›artrøsturFaroese
- Merle de rocheFrench
- Monticole de rocheFrench
- Monticole merle-de-rocheFrench
- caislín ailleIrish
- Smólach ailleIrish
- Merlo rubioGalician
- Treshlen ny gregManx
- צוקית חכליליתHebrew
- kamenjarCroatian
- kövirigóHungarian
- Խայտաբղետ քարակեռնեխArmenian
- Քարակեռնեխ խայտաբղետArmenian
- RauðþröstungurIcelandic
- CodirossoneItalian
- コシジロイソヒヨドリJapanese
- Алабажақ сайрақKazakh
- Rout SteemärelLuxembourgish
- margasis akmeninis strazdasLithuanian
- raibais akmeņstrazdsLatvian
- карпест дроздMacedonian
- ചെമ്പുവാലൻ പാറക്കിളിMalayalam
- Rode RotslijsterDutch
- steintrastNorwegian Nynorsk
- steintrostNorwegian
- Nagórnik zwyczajnyPolish
- NagórnikPolish
- nagórnik (zwyczajny)Polish
- melro-das-rochasPortuguese
- melro-das-rochas-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- Mierlă de piatrăRomanian
- Пестрый каменный дроздRussian
- Пёстрый каменный дроздRussian
- JuovvarásttisNorthern Sami
- skaliar pestrýSlovak
- slegurSlovenian
- Kos kamenjarSerbian
- Кос камењарSerbian
- stentrastSwedish
- TaşkızılıTurkish
- Kaya ArdıcıTurkish
- скеляр строкатийUkrainian
- 白背矶鸫Chinese
- 白背磯鶇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common rock thrush
Other species in the same genus Monticola.
Blue rock thrush
Monticola solitarius
Blue-capped rock thrush
Monticola cinclorhynchus
White-throated rock thrush
Monticola gularis
Chestnut-bellied rock thrush
Monticola rufiventris
Littoral rock thrush
Monticola imerina
Short-toed rock thrush
Monticola brevipes
CompareCommon rock thrush vs Blue rock thrushCommon rock thrush vs Blue-capped rock thrushCommon rock thrush vs White-throated rock thrushCommon rock thrush vs Chestnut-bellied rock thrush
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common rock thrush?
The common rock thrush is a bird in the family Muscicapidae and the order Passeriformes, grouped with the songbirds and other perching birds.
How much does a common rock thrush weigh?
An adult common rock thrush weighs 50.3 g, with values from 47 g to 52.4 g reported by our sources.
What does the common rock thrush eat?
The common rock thrush is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
What habitat does the common rock thrush live in?
The common rock thrush lives in rocky habitats and has a perching lifestyle.
Is the common rock thrush migratory?
Yes, the common rock thrush is migratory.
Is the common rock thrush endangered?
No, the common rock thrush is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does the common rock thrush lay?
The common rock thrush lays 4.25 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-rock-thrush
“Common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-rock-thrush.
@misc{common_rock_thrush_2026,
title = {Common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-rock-thrush},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}