Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE SONG BIRDS
THE THRUSHES
Rock Thrushes
With the Rock Thrushes of the Old World, a small group of two genera and a dozen species, we may close our account of this subfamily. As the name implies, they are rock-haunting birds, frequenting open, rocky wastes, usually solitary in their habits, and distinguished by a stout, straight bill, rather short wings and tail, and a plumage in which there is much blue, chestnut, or black, especially below. The common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis) is found in summer in central and southern Europe, east to central Africa, and north to southern Siberia, wintering in Africa and India. It is a shy, wary bird, frequenting barren, rocky localities, old ruins, and walled gardens, where it may be seen constantly vibrating its tail after the manner of the Redstart, and giving voice to its sweet and varied song. If taken from the nest when young and reared in confinement, it becomes an attractive cage bird and as such is much esteemed. The rather loosely constructed nest is sometimes placed in a hole in a wall, but usually in a crevice in a rocky cliff, often near a waterfall. The four or five eggs are light blue or greenish blue.
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