Muscicapidae is a large family of small birds restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, take their prey on the wing. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. They vary 10 to 21 cm. Many species are a dull brown in color. Most have broad, flattened, bill, suited to catching insects in flight, although the few ground foraging species typically have finer bills. They live in almost every environment with a suitable supply of trees, from dense forest to open scrub. The more northerly species migrate south in winter, ensuring a continuous diet of insects.
Genus Alethe
Alethe,_White-tailed Alethe diademata Found: west Africa
Image by: 1) Michael Andersen 2) Nik_Borrow - Ghana
Alethe, Fire-crested Alethe castanea Found: Nigeria to Uganda
Image by: 1)Julie Dewilde 2) Mike Piazzi - Cameroon
1) Juvenile
Genus Cichladusa
Found: tropical Africa
Thrush,_Collared_Palm- Cichladusa arquata Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Charlie Westerinen - Zimbabwe 2, 3) Ian White - Botswana 4, 5) Nik_Borrow
Thrush,_Rufous-tailed Palm- Cichladusa ruficauda Found: Africa
The Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush rufous-brown upperparts; brighter head, nape; pale gray face; yellowish-buff throat, upper-breast; pale gray lower-breast, flanks; pale buff center of belly.
Image by:
1) Ian White - Namibia 2) Ron Knight
Thrush,_Spotted_Morning also known as Spotted Palm Thrush Cichladusa guttata Found: Africa
The Spotted Morning Thrush has rufous-brown upperparts; pale underparts with dark stripes and dashes; pale supercilium.
Image by: 1) Nigel_Voaden - Tanzania 2, 3, 4) DIck Daniels - Tanzania .jpg){kind=link}
Genus Monticola Rock-thrush
Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
Thrush,_Blue-capped Rock- Monticola cinclorhynchus Found: Asia
The male Blue-capped Rock-Thrush has blue and black upperparts; blue head, chin, throat, chestnut-brown underparts. Female has brown upperparts; brown and white underparts.
Image by: 1) Dhruvaraj S 2) Sumeet Moghe 3) Anon_Ray 4) Dave_Curtis - India 5) Imran_Shah - Pakistan 6) Shrikant_Rao - India
1) Female 2-6) Male
Thrush,_Blue_Rock- Monticola solitarius Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The breeding male Blue Rock-Thrush has mainly blue plumage; rufous belly. Female has dark brown upperparts; paler brown scaly underparts.
Image by: 1) Juan_lacruz 2) JM_Garg - India 3) Jojo2000 4) Ryan
Cheng 5) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan 6) Cristiano Crolle - Spain 7) jose palacios - Spain
1, 2) Female 3 - 5) Breeding male 6, 7) Nonbreeding male
Thrush,_Cape_Rock- Monticola rupestris Found: South Africa
The breeding Cape Rock-Thrush has brown upperparts; blue-gray head; orange underparts. Female has brown upperparts head; orange underparts with some black scaling.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Derek_Keats 4 ) Arno Meintjes .jpg){kind=link}
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1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Thush,_Chestnut-bellied Monticola rufiventris Found: India, southeast Asia
The male Chestnut-bellied Thrush bright blue primary feathers; chestnut belly.
Image by: 1) Dave_Curtis 2, 4) Annethingnam 3) Hiyashi_Haka
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Thrush,_Common Rock- also Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Monticola saxatilis Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The male Common Rock-Thrush has blue-gray head, nape; dark brown wings; orange underparts. Female has dark brown scaly upperparts; pale brown scaly underparts.
Image by: 1) JV Verde - Portugal 2) Imran_Shah - Pakistan 3) Pierre Dalous 4) Francesco Veronesi 5) Andrej_Chudy - Romania
1, 2) Female 3 - 5) Male
Thrush,_Forest_Rock- Monticola sharpei Found: Madagascar
Image by: 1, 2) David Cook Frank_Vassen Heinonlein
,_Ranomafana_National_Park,_Madagascar.jpg){kind=link}
1) Juvenile 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Thrush,_Little_Rock- Monticola rufocinereus Found; Africa
The male Little Rock-Thrush has blue-gray upperparts, head, throat; orange-red underparts. Female duller and paler than male.
Image by: 1) ) Lip_Kee - Ethiopia 2) Carsten ten Brink - Eritrea 3) Francesco Veronesi - Kenya4) Dick Daniels - Kigio Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya 5) Kris Maes - Ethiopia 6) Joseph Mochoge - Gilgil, Kenya
1, 2) Female 3 - 6) Male
Thrush,_Littoral Rock- Monticola imerinus also Monticola imerina Found: Madagascar
The male Littoral Rock-Thrush has pale gray mantle, head, breast, wing coverts, neck; dull orange breast, belly.
Image by: 1) Madagascar 1, 2)
Daniel Guip 3) Frank Vassen 4) Zak_Pohlen
Thrush,_Miombo_Rock- Monticola angolensis Found: Africa
The Miombo Rock-Thrush is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Image by:
1) Nigel_Voaden - DR Congo 2) bathyporeia 3) Hans_Hillewaert
Thrush,_Sentinel_Rock- Monticola explorator Found: Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland
Image by: 1, 3) Brian_Gratwicke - Cape Town 2) Jo Mur 4) Francesco_Veronesi - South Africa
1) Female 2, 3, 4 Male
Thrush,_Short-toed_Rock- Monticola brevipes Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Cristiano Crolle - Namibia 2) Hans_Hillewaert - Namibia 3) Francesco_Veronesi 4) Ian White - Namibia
Thrush,_White-throated Rock- Monticola gularis Found: Asia
The male White-throated Rock-Thrush has white patches on throat; chestnut-orange underparts. Female has brown or olive upperparts; scalloped underparts.
Image by: 1) Micky_Lim 2) JJ Harrison - Thailand 3) Jerry_Oldenettel - Thailand
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Chat,_White-winged_Cliff- Monticola semirufus also Thamnolaea semirufa Found: Ethiopia
The male White-winged Cliff-Chat has black upperparts, head, upper-breast; chestnut rest of underparts; white wing patch. Female has dull gray underparts.
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow - Ethiopia 2) Kristian_Svensson - Ethiopia 3) Alastair Rae - Ethiopia
1) Female 2) Male
Genus Myophonus
Thrush,_Blue Whistling- Myophonus caeruleus Found: Asia
The Blue-Whistling Thrush dark violet-blue plumage; spangling on back, breast; yellow bill.
Image by: 1) JJ Harrison - Chiang Mai, Thailand 2) JM
Garg - West Bengal, India 3) Dibyendu_Ash - India 4) Hiyashi_Haka 5) Shrikant_Rao in India
Thrush,_Bornean Whistling- Myophonus borneensis Found: Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia)
Image by: 1) Tom_Brown 2) Tom_Tarrant 3) Mike_Price
Thrush,_Chestnut-winged Whistling- Myophonus castaneus Found: Sumatra (Indonesia)
The male Chestnut-winged Whistling-Thrush has dark blue head, breast, shoulders; rest chestnut. Female has mostly dull chestnut-brown plumage; blue patch on shoulder.
Image by: 1) Rob Hutchinson1) Male
Thrush,_Javan Whistling- Myophonus glaucinus Found: Java and Bali of Indonesia
Image by: 1) Jakarta_Birder 2, 3) Lip Kee
)_-_Flickr_-_Lip_Kee.jpg){kind=link}
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Thrush,_Malabar_Whistling- Myophonus horsfieldii Found: India
The Malabar Whistling-Thrush has blackish/blue upperparts; black underparts.
Image by: 1) Chandru0072 2, 3) Antony_Grossy 4) Koshy_Koshy - India
Thrush,_Malayan Whistling- Myophonus robinsoni Found: Malaysia
The Malayan Whistling-Thrush has mainly blue-black plumage; some purplish-blue on head. Female is slightly browner.
Image by: 1) Emorhun_Matjo 2) Zakir_Hassan
Thrush,_Shiny Whistling- Myophonus melanurus Found: Sumatra of Indonesia
Image by: 1) Yan Muzika
Thrush,_Sri Lanka Whistling- Myophonus blighi Found: Sri Lanka
The male Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush has dark blue plumage; darker head, back. Female has brown upperparts; chestnut underparts; blue shoulder patch.
Image by: 1, 2) Buddhika Mawella
1) Female 2) Male
Thrush,_Taiwan Whistling- also Formosan Whistling-Thrush Myophonus insularis Endemic to Taiwan
The Taiwan Whistling-Thrush has mainly blackish-blue upperparts; some under-wing coverts have white bases; blackish underparts.
Image by: 1, 2) Hiyashi Halso 3) Charles Lam 4) Hank
Genus Pseudalethe
Alethe,_Brown-chested Pseudalethe poliocephala Found: Africa
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans 2) Francesco_Veronesi - Kenya
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Alethe,_Red-throated Pseudalethe poliophrys Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya 2) Ross Tsai - Uganda 3, 4) Nik_Borrow - Uganda
Alethe,_Thyolo also Cholo Alethe Pseudalethe choloensis Found: Malawi, Mozambiquie
The Cholo Alethe has rust colored upperparts; whitish underparts; dark brown tail with white tips.
Image by: 1) Francesco Veronesi 2) Nik_Borrow - Malawi
Alethe, White-chested Pseudalethe fuelleborni Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya 2) KD Dijkstra - Tanzania
Genus Sheppardia
Akalat, Bocage's Sheppardia bocagei Found:
Image by: 1) Jacob Cooper - Equatorial Guinea 2) Nigel Voaden - DR Congo 3) Charles_Davies - Angola
Akalat,_East_Coast Sheppardia gunningi Found: east Africa
The East Coast Akalat has olive-brown upperparts; blue-gray lores, supercilium, wing coverts; orangish underparts with white on lower belly.
Similer to Equatorial Akalat. East Coast Akalat is found in forest along the coast; Equatorial Akalat is found in highland forests.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya 2) Hugh Chittenden 3) Nik_Borrow - MalawiSimiler to Equatorial Akalat. East Coast Akalat is found in forest along the coast; Equatorial Akalat is found in highland forests.
Akalat,_Equatorial Sheppardia aequatorialis Found: Africa
The Equatorial Akalat has olive-brown upperparts; blue-gray around the eyes; orangish underparts with white on lower belly.
Similer to East Coast Akalat. East Coast Akalat is found in forest along the coast; Equatorial Akalat is found in highland forests.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya 2) Dave Curtis - Kenya 3) Tony_Castro - KenyaSimiler to East Coast Akalat. East Coast Akalat is found in forest along the coast; Equatorial Akalat is found in highland forests.
Akalat,_Gabela Sheppardia gabela Found: Angola
Image by: 1) Nik_Borrow 2) Charles_Davies
Akalat, Iringa Sheppardia lowei Found: Tanzania
Image by: 1) hbw.com
Akalat, Lowland Sheppardia cyornithopsis Found: Africa
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans 2) Julie DeWilde - DR Congo
Akalat, Rubeho Sheppardia aurantiithorax Found: Tanzania
The Rubeho Akalat has rufous throat, breast (rubeho refers to this color).
Image by: pixarc.com
Akalat, Sharpe's Sheppardia sharpei Found: Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia
Image by: 1, 2) Nik Borrow - Malawi, Zambia
Akalat,_Usambara Sheppardia montana Found: Tanzania
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya 2) Valery Schollaert 3) Nik_Borrow
