P A S S ERES. TURD I DJi.
M o n t íc o la sa x a t il is (Linmeus*).
THE ROCK-THRUSH.
Petrocincla saxatills.
M o n tíc o la , F. Boie f .—Bill stout, straight, the ridge arched towards the
point. Nostrils hasal, round, partly covered with hairs. Wings moderate; the
first quill very short, the second a little shorter than the third, which is longest.
Feet o£ moderate size, stout. Tail short and even.
T h e specimen of the Rock-Thrusli figured above, was obtained
011 the 19tli of May, 1843, by Mr. Joseph Trigg, who
shot it at Therfield in Hertfordshire, while it was sitting
on an ash-tree. I saw it before it was skinned by Mr. John
Norman of Royston, and received the first notice of the occurrence
from my friend Mr. Thomas Wortham, whose influence
* Turdus saxatUis, Linmeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 294 (1766).
with Mr. Trigg obtained for me the loan of the bird for my
use in this work; and I have to return my thanks to all
concerned, for the opportunity of thus figuring and describing
the first example of the Rock-Tlirusli known to occur in
this country. This specimen is now in the collection of Mr.
Newcome. I have since heard of another example shot by
a gamekeeper, who saved only its head and neck ; but this
portion having been shown to a gentleman conversant with
ornithology, the species was identified without difficulty from
its peculiar colouring. Mr. Bedlington states (Nat. 1856,
p. 21) that in June, 1852, he observed, and followed for two
miles, near Robin Hood’s Bay, a bird which, 011 afterwards
seeing a coloured figure of the Rock-Thrush, he was able to
identify with that species.
The habits of this Thrush, the localities it prefers and its
remarkable style of coloration, have induced several ornithologists
to separate it and some others of the same character
from the true Thrushes, and to include them in a distinct and
separate section. Friedrich Boie, chiefly influenced by the
consideration last mentioned, carried this view still further,
and, in 1822, proposed for this group of birds the generic
title here adopted, naming the Rock-Thrusli as the type ol
his new genus. In 1828, Vigors, possibly unacquainted with
the step already taken, conferred the name Petrocincla on
the same group. Mr. G. R. Gray has always refused to
admit its generic value, and probably is therein justified ; but
as in former editions of this work the Rock-Thrush was removed
from the genus Turdus, it seems expedient so to treat
it now, with of course the necessary alteration required by
the priority of Boie’s name. These birds inhabit rocky and
mountainous districts, their stout legs and short tails, as
compared with the true Thrushes, enabling them to traverse
rough ground with ease.
This Rock-Thrush is an essentially migratory bird with
a very wide range, which extends far enough to the northward
to justify its being legitimately included in the present work.
It is a regular summer-visitant to most of the mountainous
parts of temperate Europe and Asia. It has occurred in