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The blue rock-thrush is a small and attractive bird, named for the distinctive deep blue colouration of the male, which is slightly brighter around the eyes, head and throat, and darker and browner on the wings and tail. The female is duller, most often a brownish blue-grey above, streaked buff and brown on the lower parts of the face and upper chest, with buff-brown barring on the lower breast and undertail. The juvenile is dark brown, lacking any blue tone to the plumage, and is more strongly spotted and scaled than the female. The five subspecies of the blue rock-thrush exhibit a gradual change in appearance across the species’ range; some races are much smaller and duller, and may be paler blue-grey, while others may be darker, or show slight variation on the patterning of the underparts. The subspecies Monticola solitarius philippensis is the most different in appearance, being stronger blue above, with a rich reddish-brown breast and undertail, and indistinct buff and black narrow barring over the body.
Thanks Liam and Arthur for the ID's. On further checking, it seems that the sub-species philippensis is found in Japan, and that it can sometimes be called 'Red-bellied' instead of 'Blue', so I am presuming both these ID's are different names for the same bird. Any other comments?
Spotted on Apr 15, 2012
Submitted on Apr 19, 2012
