From Opus

Male and female
Photo by lior kislev
Yotveta , South Arava, Israel, October 2007

Alternative names: Tristram's Grackle; Tristram's Red-winged Starling

Onychognathus tristramii

[edit] Identification

25cm. A fairly large, dark starling with a medium-length tail. The only red-winged Starling in its range.

• Glossy black plumage
• Reddish-brown primaries
• Dark brown eye
• Blackish bill
• Black legs

Females have a grey head with dark streaks on nape and lower throat. Juveniles resemble males but are less glossy.

MALE
Photo by DOC
Perse river bed, Israel, April 2004

[edit] Distribution

Israel, Jordan, Egypt (Sinai region), western and southern Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
Common to locally abundant.

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
Has been considered to from a superspecies (or even to be conspecific) with Red-winged Starling.

[edit] Habitat

Rocky cliff faces. Now also in urban areas.

[edit] Behaviour

The diet includes fruit and invertebrates; they groom Nubian Ibex and domestic livestock for parasites.
They usually gather in flocks and are quite noisy. Forms big roosts with several hundreds of birds outside breeding-season.
Breeding season March to June in Israel. A monogamous species, sometimes froming loose colonies. Their nests are mainly in crevices onr rock surfaces and they occur from sea level to 3000m. Lays 2 - 4 eggs.
A resident species, sometimes partly nomadic.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2010. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2010. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.5.xls/view
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

[edit] External Links