A Merilli Malta research project is inviting nature photographers and naturalists to participate in a citizen-science initiative to study Malta’s national bird – the Blue Rock-thrush.

Merilli Malta is a bird-ringing project, led by professional ornithologists Dr Benjamin Metzger and Dr Marie Claire Gatt, studying the Blue Rock-thrush’s ecology while increasing public appreciation towards the species and its habitats. ‘Merill’ is the Maltese name for the Blue Rock-thrush (Monticola solitarius).

They explained that this emblematic bird with a melodious song is common in cliffs and valleys but increasingly also in towns and cities across the Maltese Islands. While the species can be found across Europe and Asia, not much is known about its ecology.

This long-term scientific project aims to uncover how and when Blue Rock-thrushes move around the islands over the annual cycle, the sizes of territories that they defend during the year, as well as implications of the species’ increasing urban presence.They said that since 2022, the project has equipped over 200 Blue Rock-thrushes with individually coded colour-rings. These rings can be read through a telephoto camera lens or telescope, meaning that information on individually-recognisable birds can be obtained without the need to recapture them, amounting in a lot more data with which to answer important biological questions.

So far, the project has uncovered that Blue Rock-thrushes form long-term pairs and defend distinct territories over several years, and that despite high territoriality there can be several breeding pairs in relatively small areas.

The participation of the general public in the collection of data enhances the size of the dataset and its effectiveness for research goals. Since the Blue Rock-thrush is a charismatic and locally widespread bird, it is an ideal candidate for a citizen-science study using colour-ringing.

Merilli Malta is inviting bird-watchers, photographers, and nature lovers to participate by photographing Blue Rock-thrushes and submitting photos of colour-ringed birds, together with the place and time of the observation, on the project’s dedicated online platform.

On submitting photos, participants will be sent the history of the Blue Rock-thrush photographed.Dr Benjamin Metzger and Dr Marie Claire Gatt said that in Europe, colour-ringing is coordinated by EURING. “All bird-ringing in the project is carried out by trained and licensed professionals using materials purposely made for the study of wild birds.”

Merilli Malta is part-funded by the Malta Environment Foundation and collaborates with local environmental NGOs Friends of the Earth Malta and BirdLife Malta, as well as the Malta Rock Climbing Club and ClimbMT.

More information can be found on the project website www.merillimalta.org and on its social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Photos Merilli Malta: Three different types of colour-rings are used in this project: Yellow for Blue Rock-thrushes ringed on Gozo, dark blue rings for those ringed on Comino and white for those ringed on Malta.

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