Blue rock thrush | |
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Male M. s. solitarius | |
Female M. s. solitarius | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Genus: | Monticola |
Species: | M. solitarius
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Binomial name | |
Monticola solitarius | |
Range of M. solitarius Breeding Resident Passage Non-breeding Vagrant (seasonality uncertain)
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Synonyms | |
Turdus solitarius Linnaeus, 1758 |
The blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) is a species of chat. This thrush-like Old World flycatcher was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. 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.