Alternative names: Grey-headed Myna/Starling; Ashy-headed Myna/Starling
- Sturnia malabarica
Identification
20cm. A small Starling with elongate and hackled feathers on cronw, nape, side of face and throat.
- White forehead and chin
- Silver-grey head with streaked appearance
- Grey upperparts
- Orange-brown rump
- Grey wings with black primary coverts and brown secondaries
- Grey tail, tipped chestnut
- Rich cinnamon-brown brest and belly
- Greyish-white eye
- Bill blue at base, green in middle and yellow at tip
- nemoricola is much paler than nominate, has dirty white underparts and grey or white primary coverts (forming a white wing patch)
Sexes similar. Juveniles are grey-brown.
Similar species
The subspecies nemoricola can look similar to White-shouldered Starling.
Distribution
It is a resident breeder from India to Myanmar, south-west China, Thailand and Indochina. Vagrant in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Fairly common.
Taxonomy
Malabar Starling was formerly included in this species.
Chestnut-tailed Starling is sometimes placed in the genus Sturnus which leads to the scientific name Sturnus malabaricus.
Subspecies
Two subspecies usually recognized[1]:
- S. m. malabaricus in northern India to northeast India and south to Orissa. Summer visitor to Nepal
- S. m. nemoricola from northeast India east to Burma, south China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
Habitat
Open woodland, cultivation with scattered trees, often in young forest plantations and also close to human settlements. Found from the lowland to the foothills, up to 2000m in India, 1500m in southeast Asia.
Behaviour
Usually seen in pairs or small flocks, also in bigger flocks.
Forms communal roosts, often with other species like Indian Pied Starling.
They fly in tight flocks and often rapidly change directions with great synchrony.
Diet
Omnivorous. Feeds on insects, fruit, seeds and nectar.
Breeding
Breeding season from April to July in northern India and April to June in southeast Asia. A monogamous species. The nest is placed in a tree hole (often an old hole of a Woodpecker or a Barbet. Lays 3 - 5 eggs.
Movements
Not well understood. Nominate birds seem to winter in southern India. The population in Thailand is also augmented in winter by birds from the north of the range.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Chestnut-tailed Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut-tailed_Starling
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
