Rock Thrushes

Rock Thrushes 

two related genera of songbirds (Mon-tícola and Orocetes) of the family Turdidae. They are somewhat smaller than starlings. In the male plumage red or chestnut brown colors are combined with blue-gray and light blue; the females and young are brownish. There are ten species, found throughout Africa, southern Europe, and Asia. In the USSR there are three species, of which Montícola saxatilis may be found in Moldavia, the southern Ukraine, including the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Middle Asia. It inhabits unforested cliff areas, building its nest among rocks (the clutch has four to six eggs). It feeds on insects, sometimes berries. The species M. solitarius is found in the Caucasus, Middle Asia, and the southern Primor’e. The species Orocetes gularis inhabits the forests of south-eastern Transbaikalia, the Amur, and Primor’e. It nests on the ground and in tree hollows with the clutch containing five to eight eggs.