Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The blue rock-thrush was one of my bird highlights when I visited Japan earlier this year. Walking across a bridge that spans the Takano River in northeastern Kyoto, I looked up and spotted a male rock-thrush perched on a power line over the waterway. I wasn’t afforded a long look at his striking steel blue outfit and rusty vest, but I managed to get my binoculars trained on him for a few satisfying moments.

The blue rock-thrush is a widespread species, with a range that stretches from western Europe and North Africa to the Pacific Rim, but this particular subspecies (Monticola solitarius philippensis) is the only one that wears a rusty vest. It lacks a distinct common name, but I’m thinking we should go with “jaunty blue rock-thrush” or “rock-thrush red breast.” Whatever you call the subspecies, it can be found from eastern Mongolia and China south to the Malaysian peninsula and the Philippines, and east to Japan. Curiously, despite officially having five subspecies of blue rock-thrush on the books, taxonomists acknowledge that “separation of races [is] generally difficult” because there is so much interbreeding between them. The only variation that is plainly distinct is this one, M. s. philippensis, both because of its dapper duds and its somewhat exceptional behavior; this subspecies is more coastally inclined and riverine than its relatives and it occasionally catches insect prey in flight, a practice not noted among the other races.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.