- Monticola brevipes
Includes Pretoria (Transvaal) Rock-Thrush
Identification
Wing coverts are grey, the head is pale grey to white in most subspecies (less so in pretoriae), and the separation of grey throat from orange breast is neat and contrasty.
Similar species
Cape Rock Thrush is the main contender.
Distribution
Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.
Taxonomy
There are two subspecies:[1]
- M. b. brevipes
- Angola to Namibia, Botswana and western Northern Cape Province (South Africa)
- M. b. pretoriae
- Mountains of south-eastern Botswana to north-central and central South Africa.
- Separated as Pretoria Rock-Thrush by some authorities;[2] this is supported by molecular, morphological and distributional evidence.[3]
Habitat
Dry shrubland.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects, seeds & fruits. One time a small gecko was seen fed to nestlings.
Breeding
Nest is a bulky cup of dry grass, stems and roots. It is lined with fine grass and hair and placed on the ground in a hollow.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, M Wright and D Donsker. 2009. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.0). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Outlaw, RK, G Voelker, DC Outlaw. 2007. Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the rock-thrushes (Muscicapidae: Monticola). The Auk 124: 561-577. Available at findarticles.com
- Birdforum thread discussing ID of Short-toed Rock Thrush and especially subspecies pretoriae
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Short-toed Rock Thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Short-toed_Rock_Thrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
