The rock thrushes, Monticola, are a genus of chats, medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous songbirds. All are Old World birds, and most are associated with mountainous regions.
The genus was erected by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie in 1822.[1][2] Monticola is the Latin word for mountain-dweller or mountaineer.[3] The genus was formerly included in the thrush family Turdidae.[4] Molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2004 and 2010 showed that the species are more closely related to members of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.[5][6]