Chestnut-tailed Starling
Sturnia malabarica
The Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica) is a uncommon rhabdornis, starlings, and myna found in 16 countries, weighing about 40 g. The chestnut-tailed starling, also called grey-headed starling and grey-headed myna is a member of the starling family.
About the Chestnut-tailed Starling
The chestnut-tailed starling, also called grey-headed starling and grey-headed myna is a member of the starling family. It is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia. The species name is after the distribution of a former subspecies in the Malabar region. While the chestnut-tailed starling is a winter visitor to peninsular India, the closely related resident breeding population with a white head is now treated as a full species, the Malabar starling.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The adults have a total length of approximately 20 cm (7.9 in). They have grey upperparts and blackish remiges, but the colour of the remaining plumage depends on the subspecies. In the nominate subspecies and blythii, the underparts (incl. undertail) are rufous, but in nemoricola the underparts are whitish tinged rufous, especially on the flanks and crissum (the undertail coverts surrounding the cloaca). The nominate and nemoricola have a light grey head with whitish streaking (especially on crown and collar region). Both subspecies have white irises and a yellow bill with a pale blue base.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, October, November, December, with peak activity in February. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Chestnut-tailed Starling?
- The adults have a total length of approximately 20 cm (7.9 in). Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Chestnut-tailed Starling?
- The Chestnut-tailed Starling is a small sized bird weighing about 40 g.
- Where can you see a Chestnut-tailed Starling?
- The Chestnut-tailed Starling occurs in 16 countries, including India, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Nepal.
- What birds look similar to a Chestnut-tailed Starling?
- The Chestnut-tailed Starling is most easily confused with the Brahminy Starling, the White-shouldered Starling and the White-headed Starling.
- Is the Chestnut-tailed Starling endangered?
- The Chestnut-tailed Starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Chestnut-tailed Starling for real
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