The chestnut-bellied rock thrush is a species of passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, eastwards towards parts of Southeast Asia. Its range includes northern Pakistan eastwards to northern India, Bhutan, southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
Region
Himalayas and northern Indochina
Typical Environment
Occurs from northern Pakistan and India through Nepal and Bhutan to northern Myanmar, southern China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Prefers temperate montane forests, forest edges, and rocky slopes with scattered trees. Often uses clearings, ravines, and wooded valleys with nearby rocks or boulders for perching and nesting. Outside the breeding season, it descends to lower elevations and extends into more subtropical foothills and secondary growth.
Altitude Range
800–3200 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Males show a striking contrast of deep blue upperparts and a rich chestnut belly, often singing from exposed rock perches in montane forests. The species breeds across the Himalayas and shifts to lower elevations or further southeast outside the breeding season. It forages by sallying from perches to snatch insects on the wing or from the ground. Females are much more cryptic, with finely scaled brown plumage that blends into rocky, forested slopes.
Temperament
alert and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between perches
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs during the breeding season. Nests in rock crevices, walls, or banks, constructing a cup-shaped nest. Likely monogamous, with the male singing from prominent perches to advertise territory.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A clear, melodious series of whistles and warbles delivered from exposed perches. Phrases are varied and repeated, with pauses between stanzas; calls include sharp ticks and thin seep notes.
Plumage
Male with glossy blue head and upperparts, dark wings, and a rich chestnut belly and vent; female brown to grey-brown with fine pale scaling and mottling on the underparts and upperparts.
Diet
Primarily consumes insects such as beetles, ants, caterpillars, and other arthropods. It often drops to the ground from a perch to pick prey or makes short aerial sallies after flying insects. In the non-breeding season it may take small berries and other soft fruits opportunistically.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, rocky clearings, paths, and open glades within montane forest. Frequently uses boulders, logs, and low branches as vantage points for sallying.
