Metallic Starling (1 Viewer)

The taxonomic rank of Aplonis metallica circumscripta. N. J. Collar Forktail 34 2018 (yes)
... argues for species status with name Purple-chinned Starling

'The Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica on the Tanimbar Islands and Damar, east Indonesia, is generally treated as a subspecies circumscripta, but one world list gives it species rank, a judgement that can be traced to the claim that it has ‘the whole head to the upper back and chest a bright reddish violet’, which is evidently in this case considered a species-level difference. A trawl through the literature and an assessment of 24 specimens in four museums demonstrates that the colour distinction in this claim is mistaken. However, circumscripta is consistently diagnosed from metallica by its (1) short-feathered clear-cut inverted-U-shaped purple chin-patch, (2) large purple mantle-patch and correspondingly very narrow green hind-collar, and (3) average shorter bill and wings but, in males, notably longer central rectrices, strongly indicating that species rank is indeed appropriate for the taxon, for which the vernacular name Purple-chinned Starling is proposed.'

Hi Des,
can I please request that you limit your splitting and investigations, soley to stuff that I'VE seen......

Hope you're well, Andy

Edit: What's happening wit 'Eaton's' Parrotfinch?

BirdLife Taxonomy: Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica) is being split: assessment of the newly recognised taxa.

Following a taxonomic reassessment, Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica) has been split into Metallic Starling (A. metallica), and Purple-chinned Starling (A. circumscripta) (see Collar, 2018). The newly split Metallic Starling has a range extending from east Indonesia, through Papua New Guinea to Queensland in Australia. Purple-chinned Starling is found in the Tanimbar Islands and on Damar Island, Indonesia (Collar, 2018).

The exact habitat requirements for the newly split Purple-chinned Starling have not been investigated, but it is very likely to require lowland and montane forests, similar to Metallic Starling. Both species may also inhabit dry savannas, mangrove forests, and rural gardens (BirdLife International, 2020).

The population size of the pre-split species is unknown, but it is described as locally common to abundant, although it may be uncommon or rare on the Tanimbar Islands (Feare & Craig, 1998). There are not many threats known to the pre-split Metallic Starling, but as both species inhabit forests to some degree (BirdLife International, 2020), they may be at risk from deforestation.

The pre-split species was previously listed as Least Concern (BirdLife International 2020). However, following the taxonomic split, new range sizes suggest that both species warrant a thorough reassessment. We have therefore reassessed both species against each criterion here.