Family Starlings (Sturnidae)
Least Concern
Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus)
Taxonomy
French: Étourneau roselin German: Rosenstar Spanish: Estornino rosado
Other common names:
Rose-coloured Starling
Taxonomy:
Turdus roseus
Linnaeus
, 1758,Lapland and Switzerland
.Distribution:
S Ukraine E to lower Volga steppes, C & E Kazakhstan, W Altai and W Mongolia, S to E Turkey, N Iran, Afghanistan and NW China (W & N Xinjiang); occasionally SE Europe W to Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy, and possibly now breeding annually in Romania, Bulgaria and Balkans, also occasionally farther E in Russia (to upper R Yenisey). Winters mainly in India and Sri Lanka.
Descriptive notes
19–24 cm; 60–88 g. Medium-sized starling with nape feathers hackled and elongate, forming long erectile crest. Male has head and neck to throat and upper breast... read more
Voice
Song a long series of bubbling, warbling, whistled and grating phrases, apparently not including... read more
Habitat
Breeds on open steppes where orthopterans (locusts and other grasshoppers) abundant; colonies... read more
Food and feeding
Insectivorous during breeding season, when diet dominated by locusts and other grasshoppers; more fruit taken after breeding, and in winter... read more
Breeding
Breeds May–Jul; short season closely tied to food availability, and breeding may be abandoned prematurely if food supply fails.... read more
Movements
Migratory; also nomadic during post-breeding dispersal, which begins when most nestlings have... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Common to abundant; breeding colonies can contain tens of thousands of nests, and migrating birds have been estimated in millions. Location of... read more
Monotypic.