Description:

Medium to large sized long billed compact rock-thrush. Male is deep blue, darker and browner on wings and tail. Female much duller above, generally blue-grey, often brownish; below streaked buff and brown from lower face to mid-breast, shifting to buff-and-brown barring from lower breast to undertail.

Distribution:

Common and widespread summer visitor to all the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan. Prefers barren rocky hills and steep hillsides and arid boulder-strewn slopes, up to 4200m; during the winter occurs in a wider range of rocky locations.

Behavior:

Forages by scanning from low vantage and dropping to ground to take prey, also by hopping and running on ground; occasionally fly catches in aerial sallies. Takes fruit direct from plant and on ground. Feeds on invertebrates, small vertebrates and fruit. Mainly insects, including grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, beetles, ants and flies; also spiders, snails, earthworms.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Blue Rock-Thrush in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Blue Rock-Thrush

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.