Cape Rock Thrush
Monticola rupestris (Vieillot, 1818)
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 Cape rock thrush (Monticola rupestris) is a member of the bird family Muscicapidae. This rock thrush breeds in eastern and southern South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. It is a common endemic resident, non-migratory apart from seasonal altitudinal movements in some areas.
This species breeds in mountainous rocky areas with scattered vegetation. It lays 2-3 eggs in a cup nest in a rock cavity or on a ledge. It eats a wide range of insects and other small animals, and some berries.
This is a large stocky rock thrush 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) in length. The summer male has a blue-grey head, orange underparts and outer tail feathers, and brown wings and back.
Females have a brown head, but their underparts are a much richer orange than those of other female rock thrushes. The outer tail feathers are reddish, like the male's. Immatures are like the female, but the upperparts have buff spots and the underparts show black scaling.
The male Cape rock thrush has a whistled song tsee-tsee-tseet-chee-chweeeoo, and occasionally mimics other birds.
Wikipedia contributors, Cape rock thrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:58.628095+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Monticola rupestris (Vieillot, 1818)
- Name authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Common name
- Cape 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 rupestris (Vieillot, 1818)
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 |
| 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 |
| Little Rock ThrushMonticola rufocinereus (Rüppell, 1837) | 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=561215 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:44B85. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.