Forest Rock Thrush
Monticola sharpei (G. R. Gray, 1871)
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 forest rock thrush (Monticola sharpei) is a songbird in the family Muscicapidae, formerly placed in the Turdidae together with the other chats. It now includes Benson's rock thrush and Amber Mountain rock thrush as subspecies.
It is endemic to Madagascar. The type locality is the forests east of Ambatondrazaka, which in turn lies south of Lake Alaotra.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Wikipedia contributors, Forest rock thrush; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:12:55.422444+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Monticola sharpei (G. R. Gray, 1871)
- Name authority
- (G. R. Gray, 1871)
- Common name
- Forest 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 sharpei (G. R. Gray, 1871)
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 |
| Little Rock ThrushMonticola rufocinereus (Rüppell, 1837) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue Rock ThrushMonticola solitarius (Linnaeus, 1758) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pseudocossyphus sharpei (G. R. Gray, 1871) (G. R. Gray, 1871) | synonym |
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=916359 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:44B88. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.