The common rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis) is a distinctive, small, short-tailed thrush-like bird. Males are strikingly beautiful with a bright blue-grey head, white back patch, and chestnut underparts. Females are reddish-brown and have a scaly appearance. Formerly named the rufous-tailed rock thrush or rock thrush, it breeds in open dry hilly areas of southern Europe across central Asia to northern China. Strongly migratory, all its populations winter in Africa south of the Sahara.
