Chestnut-tailed Starling

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Chestnut-tailed Starling
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Infraorder: Muscicapoidea Family: Sturnidae Genus: Sturnus (but see text) Species: S. malabaricus
Binomial name
Sturnus malabaricus (Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms
See text

The Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus), also known as Grey-headed Myna, is a member of the starling family of perching birds. It is a resident breeder in India and southeast Asia. It is occasionally moved to the genus Sturnia (as Sturnia malabarica), and this may well be correct, considering that Sturnus where it is usually placed is highly paraphyletic (Zuccon et al. 2006).

The adults of these 20 cm long birds have dark grey upperparts, rufous underparts and a chestnut tail. The head is a paler grey, with a white throat. The sexes are similar, but juveniles have grey upperparts and whitish underparts, with just chestnut tips to the tail feathers.

The White-headed Myna is usually considered a subspecies blythii of the present species, but some (e.g. Rasmussne & Anderton 2005) treat it as a distinct species. Adults of this south-west Indian bird have a completely white head and breast. They are resident breeders in the forests of the Western Ghats and do not interbreed with the migrant Sturnia malabarica which also visits the region in winter.

The Chestnut-tailed Starling's nest is typically found in open woodland and cultivation. The Chestnut-tailed Starling builds a nest in hole. The normal clutch is 3-5 eggs.

Like most starlings, the Chestnut-tailed Starling is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and insects. They fly in tight flocks and often rapidly change directions with great synchrony.

[edit] References

• BirdLife International (2004). Sturnus malabaricus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
• Rasmussen, Pamela C. & Anderton John C. (2005): Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. ISBN 8487334679
• Zuccon D, Cibois A, Pasquet E, Ericson PG. (2006) Nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data reveal the major lineages of starlings, mynas and related taxa. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 41(2):333-44.

[edit] Gallery

warbling after bath on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	after bath on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	after bath on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	after swallowing a Kapok Ceiba pentandra flower bud in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	on Kapok Ceiba pentandra in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
looking for a drop of water in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Group in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
After bath in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	After bath in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Preening in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.