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Spotless Starling

Sturnus unicolor

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernOmnivoreForestCavity nestMedium · 84 g
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 1
Photo: David Pereira · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 2
Photo: Karim Haddad · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 3
Photo: Karim Haddad · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 4
Photo: Gonzalo Ganda Álvarez · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 5
Photo: Gonzalo Ganda Álvarez · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 6
Photo: Duarte Frade · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 7
Photo: WikiNinjaHamster · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 8
Photo: WikiNinjaHamster · CC BY 4.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 9
Photo: José Prego from Moura, Portugal · CC BY 2.0
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), photo 10
Photo: José Prego from Moura, Portugal · CC BY 2.0

What the Spotless Starling sounds like

Sonogram of the Spotless Starling: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Joost van Bruggen · Song, mimmicry · El Condado (near Almonte), Huelva, Andalucía, Spain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Spotless Starling: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Joost van Bruggen · Song · Aljarafe (near Aznalcázar), Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult spotless starling is very similar to the common starling, but marginally larger (21–23 cm length; 70–100 g weight), and has darker, oily-looking black plumage, slightly purple- or green-glossed in bright light, which is entirely spotless in spring and summer, and only with very small pale spots in winter plumage, formed by the pale tips of the feathers. It also differs in having conspicuously longer throat feathers (twice the length of those on common starlings), forming a shaggy "beard" which is particularly obvious when the bird is singing. Its legs are bright pink.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Spotless Starling

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Spotless Starling

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 9 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Spain Portugal Morocco France Italy Tunisia Algeria Gibraltar Poland

Recorded as a rare visitor in Germany.

About the Spotless Starling

The spotless starling is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is closely related to the common starling, but has a much more restricted range, confined to the Iberian Peninsula, Northwest Africa, southernmost France, and the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. It is largely non-migratory.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Common StarlingSturnus vulgarisThe common starling is 19–23 cm (7.5–9.1 in) long, with a wingspan of 31–44 cm (12–17 in) and a weight of 58–101 g (2.0–3.6 oz).

Side by side: Common Starling vs Spotless Starling

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