The blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) male has all blue-grey plumage apart from its darker wings. A species of chat, this thrush-like Old World flycatcher breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. Females and immatures are much less striking, with dark brown upperparts, and paler brown scaly underparts. The blue rock thrush is the official national bird of Malta (the word for it in Maltese being Merill) and was shown on the Lm 1 coins that were part of the country's former currency. The European, north African and southeast Asian birds are mainly resident, apart from altitudinal movements. Other Asian populations are more migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, India and southeast Asia.
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