Little Rock Thrush
Monticola rufocinereus (Rüppell, 1837)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The little rock thrush (Monticola rufocinereus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen. It is found in rocky (inland cliffs and mountain peaks) areas with some trees, and sometimes near settlements. At 15 to 16 centimetres (5.9 to 6.3 in) this is the smallest of the Muscicapidae. The male has the head, throat and upper mantle blue-grey, the underparts orange-red, except for the center blackish center tail and tips which form an inverted T shape. The female is duller and paler. It is readily mistaken for a redstart because of its habit of trembling its tail.
Wikipedia contributors, Little rock thrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:13:02.852724+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Monticola rufocinereus (Rüppell, 1837)
- Name authority
- (Rüppell, 1837)
- Common name
- Little Rock Thrush
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Monticola
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae Fleming, 1822
- genusMonticola F. Boie, 1822
- speciesMonticola rufocinereus (Rüppell, 1837)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Monticola. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sentinel Rock ThrushMonticola explorator (Vieillot, 1818) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated Rock ThrushMonticola gularis (Swinhoe, 1863) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monticola imerina (Hartlaub, 1860) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chestnut-bellied Rock ThrushMonticola rufiventris (Jardine & Selby, 1833) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape Rock ThrushMonticola rupestris (Vieillot, 1818) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rufous-tailed Rock ThrushMonticola saxatilis (Linnaeus, 1766) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monticola semirufus (Rüppell, 1837) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Short-toed Rock ThrushMonticola brevipes (Waterhouse, 1838) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Miombo Rock ThrushMonticola angolensis Sousa, 1888 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-capped Rock ThrushMonticola cinclorhynchus (Vigors, 1832) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Forest Rock ThrushMonticola sharpei (G. R. Gray, 1871) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitarius (Linnaeus, 1758) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=561214 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:44B84. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.