THE WORLD BIRDS - An Online Bird Book
HOME
SEARCH 
INDEX

Asian STARLINGs and their Allies

Order Passeriformes   Family Sturnidae

The family Sturnidae includes the starlings and mynas. Family members are collectively know as the starlings. The family also used to include the oxpeckers, but they now are thought to be rather distant relatives. Some starling species are good mimics, and the family is related to the mimidae family of mockingbirds. Starlings are small to medium sized. They are usually dark colored, often with a metallic sheen, but some have bright colors. Many species have very bright eyes. The starlings eat insects and fruit. They favor open spaces.



Genus Acridotheres
The "typical" mynas are found in tropical southern Asia from Iran east to southern China and Indonesia. Two species have been introduced widely elsewhere. The Common Myna has been introduced to South Africa, Israel, Hawaii, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and the Crested Myna to the Vancouver region of British Columbia. They are general dark dull birds. They walk rather than hop. They have bowing courtship displays and lay unmarked pale blue eggs.

Myna,_Bank Acridotheres ginginianus Found: Asia
The Bank Myna has mainl bluish-gray plumage; black head; bare orange patch behind eye.
Similar to: Common Myna. Common Myna has black on upper-breast. Bank Myna has gray on upper-breast.
Image by: 1) Mukerjee - India  2) Thomas Schoch - India  3) Charles_J_Sharp - India  4) Koshy_Koshy - India


Myna,_Black-winged  also  Black-winged Starling  Acridotheres melanopterus  Found: Indonesia
The Black-winged Myna has mainly white plumage; bare yellow skin around eye; black tail and parts of wings.
Image by: 1) Doug Janson  2) Jappalang


Myna,_Collared  Acridotheres albocinctus Found: south Asia
The Collared Myna has blackish upperparts; dark gray underparts; broad white collar on nape.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Brendan Ryan - Myanmar


Myna,_Common Acridotheres tristis   Native to Asia.  Introduced: North America, Africa, Australasia
The Common Myna brown upperparts; black head, neck, upper-breast; gray lower-breast, upper-belly; white lower-belly; bare yellow patch behind eye.
Similar to: Bank Myna. Common Myna has black on upper-breast. Bank Myna has gray on upper-breast.
Similar to: Common Hill Myna. Common Hill Myna has a bigger bill than the Common Myna. Commom Hill Myna has wattle on back of neck; Common Myna does not.
Similar to: Crested Myna. Crested Myna has crest at base of bill; Common Myna does not. Common Myna has bare yellow patch behind eye; Crested Myna does not.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Nepal  2) Dick - Hawaii   3)  Dick - Johannesburg, South Africa  4, 5, 6) Dick - Australia  7, 8) Dick - Madagascar


Myna,_Crested  Acridotheres cristatellus  Found:  North America (introduced), southeast Asia
The Crested Myna has black plumage; ivory bill; orange eyes; tuft (crest) at base of bill.
Similar to: Common Myna. Crested Myna has crest at base of bill; Common Myna does not. Common Myna has bare yellow patch behind eye; Crested Myna does not.
Similar to: Great Myna. Great Myna has yellow bill; orange eyes. Crested Myna has ivory bill; brown eyes.
Image by: 1) Magalhães - Artis, Amsterdam  2)  Laitche - Japan   3) Frankie Chu


Myna,_Great  Acridotheres grandis Found: southeast Asia
The great Myna has black plumage; yellow bill; reddish-brown eyes; tuft at base of bill.
Similar to: Crested Myna. Great Myna has yellow bill; orange eyes. Crested Myna has ivory bill; brown eyes.
Image by:  1) LonelyShrimp - Thailand  2) Jason_Thompson - Thailand  3) JJ_Harrison - Thailand


Myna,_Javan also  White-vented Myna   Acridotheres javanicus  Found: Indonesia  Introduced: Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan 
The Javan Myna has gray upperparts; lighter gray underparts; yellow bill, eyes, legs; tuft at base of bill.
Similar to: Jungle Myna. Javan Myna has larger bill than Jungle Myna.
Image by: 1) Darren Bellerby - Jurong Bird Park, Singapore  2) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan  3) Arthur Chapman - Singapore  4) Lip_Kee 


Myna,_Jungle  Acridotheres fuscus  Found: Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia; introduced Indonesia 
The Jungle Myna has gray upperparts; lighter gray underparts; yellow bill, eyes, legs; tuft at base of bill.
Similar to: Javan Myna. Javan Myna has larger bill than Jungle Myna.
Image by: 1, 2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Nepal  5) JM Garg - India  6) Lip Kee - India  Koshy_Koshy



Myna,_Pale-bellied  Acridotheres cinereus  Found: Christmas Island, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
The Pale-bellied Myna has dark upperparts; pale underparts; yellow eyes, bill; small tuft at base of bill.
Image by: 1) Joseph Smit  2) Nigel Voaden



Genus Agropsar
These species are sometimes placed in Sturnia or Sturnus.

Starling,_Chestnut-cheeked  Agropsar philippensis  Found: Asia, Indonesia
Image by: 1, 2) Hiyashi_Haka
1) Female or juvenile male  2) Male


Starling,_Daurian  also  Purple-backed Starling  Agropsar sturninus  Found: Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia
Image by: 1) Johnny Wee   2) Hiyashi Haka  3) characters



Genus Ampeliceps - 1 species

Myna,_Golden-crested  Ampeliceps coronatus  Found: Asia
The Golden-crested Myna has mainly glossy black plumage; golden crown, throat.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - North Carolina Zoo   2) Sandy Cole - North Carolina Zoo  3) Dick Daniels - National Aviary



Genus Basilornis  Found: Indonesia, Philippines

Myna,_Apo Basilornis mirandus  Found: Philippines
The Apo Myna has glossymainly black plumage; white lower back; yellow eye-ring; yellowish bill, legs.
Image by: mjcv


Myna,_Helmeted  Basilornis galeatus  Found: Indonesia
The Helmeted Myna has glossy black plumage; white spots on face; helmet-like crest.
Image by: 1) Adolf Meyer


Myna,_Long-crested  Basilornis corythaix  Found: Indonesia
Image by: 1) Joseph Wolf


Myna,_Sulawesi  Basilornis celebensis  Found: Indonesia
The Sulawesi Myna has glossy black plumage; white patches on face, throat; bluish-green bill; yellowish legs.
Image by: 1) Joseph Wolf  2) aMa2er



Genus Enodes - 1 species

Starling,_Fiery-browed  also  Fiery-browed Myna  Enodes erythrophris  Found: Indonesia (Sulawesi)
Image by: 1) Nicolas Le Jeune  2) Francesco Veronesi   3) pinebird



Genus Gracula
These mynas have glossy black plumage and large white wing patches which are obvious in flight. The bill and strong legs are bright yellow or orange, and there are yellow wattles on the head, the shape and position of which vary with species. The sexes are similar, but juveniles have a duller bill.

Myna,_Ceylon  also  Sri Lanka Myna  Gracula ptilogenys  Found: Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Myna has mainly green-glossed black plumage; purple-tinged head, neck; large white wing patches obvious in flight; yellow wattles on nape; bright yellow legs.
Image by: 1) Thimindu_Goonatillake  2) Danushka Senadheera


Myna,_Common Hill also Hill Myna Gracula religiosa   Found: Southeast Asia   Introduced: North America
The Common Hill Myna has glossy black plumage; yellowish-orange massive bill; yellow head wattles.
Similar to: Common Myna. Common Hill Myna has a bigger bill than the Common Myna. Commom Hill Myna has wattles on back of neck; Common Myna does not.
Image by:  1) Spencer Wright  2) Arthur Chapman  3) Nagash Kamath


Myna,_Enggano  Gracula enganensis  Found: Enggano Island, off southwest Sumatra, Indonesia
The Enggano Myna has mainly black plumage; yellow bare-skin /wattle on head, nape; white wing patch.
Image by: 1) hbw.com


Myna,_Nias  Gracula robusta  Found: Nias and other nearby islands off western Sumatra, Indonesia
The Enggano Nias has mainly black plumage; yellow/orange bare-skin /wattle on head, nape; white wing patch; red bill; yellow legs. This may be the largest member of the starling family.
Image by: 1) Internet Archive Book Images


Myna,_Southern Hill  Gracula indica  Found: southwest India, Sri Lanks
Image by: 1) Lip Kee - India  2) Subramanya_CK - India



Genus Gracupica
This genus is also consdered to be part of Sturnus. They have long, thin bills.

Starling,_Asian Pied  also Pied Myna  Gracupica contra  also  Sturnus contra    Found: Asia
The Asian Pied Startling has black upperparts, throat, upper-breast; white cheek, lores, lower-breast; belly, wing coverts; reddish orbital skin; yellowish bill with reddish base.
Image by: 1) Ravi Vaidyanathan - India  2) J M Garg - India  3) Charles_J_Sharp - India


Starling,_Black-collared  Gracupica nigricollis  also  Sturnus nigricollis  Found: Asia
The Black-collared Starling has mainly black upperparts with some white; broad black collar; white underparts; bare yellow orbital skin.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Dick - Miami Zoo  4, 5) Darren Bellerby - Kowloon Park, Hong Kong 6) Charlie Westerinen - Thailand (wild)




Genus Leucopsar - 1 species

Myna,_Bali also Bali Starling  Leucopsar rothschildi  Found: Bali
The Bali Myna has mainly white plumage; long drooping crest; black wing tips, tail tips; bare blue skin around eyes; yellow tipped bill.
Image by: 1, 2) Colin Burnett    3) Darren Bellerby - Edward Youde Aviary, Hong Kong   4, 6) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo   5) Sandy Cole - San Diego Zoo




Genus Pastoro - 1 species

Starling,_Rosy  Pastor roseus  Found: Europe, Asia
The Rosy Starling has pink mantle, underparts; black head, nape, throat, wings, tail.
Image by: 1) Imran_Shah - Pakistan  2, 3) Lip Kee - India 4) Sergey Yeliseev - Kazakhstan  5) Shrikant_Rao - India
1) Juvenile




Genus Rhabdornis

The Philippine creepers are similar in appearance to treecreepers (Certhiidae). They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they can use to extricate insects from bark, but they have brush-like tongues, which enable them to also feed on nectar.

Rhabdornis, Grand  also  Long-billed Rhabdornis  Rhabdornis grandis  Found: Luzon Island in the Philippines
Image by: 1) Blake Matheson 2) mjcv


Rhabdornis, Stripe-breasted  Rhabdornis inornatus  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Mark Harper  2) Francesco Veronesi


Rhabdornis, Stripe-headed  also   Stripe-sided Rhabdornis  Rhabdornis mystacalis  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Mark Harper - Luzon, Philippines  2) Neon Rosell


Rhabdornis,_Visayan   Rhabdornis rabori  Found: Negros (Philippines)
Image by: 1, 2) Bram_Demeulemeester



Genus Sarcops - 1 species

Coleto  Sarcops calvus  Found: Philippines
Image by: 1) Mark Harper   2) Dave Irving



Genus Saroglossa - 1 species

Starling,_Spot-winged   Saroglossa spiloptera  Found: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand
Image by: 1, 2) LonelyShrimp - Thailand  3) Godbolemandar - India  4) Vijay_Ismavel 
1) Pair  2, 3) Female  4) Male



Genus Scissirostrum - 1 species

Starling,_Grosbeak  also  Finch-billed Myna  Scissirostrum dubium  Found: Sulawesi, Indonesia
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo  2) Dick - National Aviary     3) John Tasirin - North Sulawesi, Indonesia  4) Tim_Evanson - SDZ



Genus Spodiopsar

Starling,_Red-billed   Spodiopsar sericeus  Found: mainly in south and southeast China
Image by: 1, 2) Charles_Lam - China


Starling,_White-cheeked  Spodiopsar cineraceus  Found: Asia
The male White-cheeked Starling  has dark gray upperparts; paler belly; whitish cheeks, forehead, rump patch; orange legs; orange bill with black tip. Female similar to male but paler and duller.
Image by: 1) watch-bird.blogspot.tw  2) Alpsdake - Japan  3) 57Andrew - Hong Kong  4) Marcel Holyoak - Japan
1) Juvenile



Genus Streptocitta

Myna,_Bare-eyed  Streptocitta albertinae  Found: Indonesian islands of Taliabu and Mangole in the Sula Islands
The Bare-eyed Myna has black upperparts, vent; white head, underparts; dark-bare eye-patch.
Image by: 1) Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center  2) Frank_Rheindt


Myna,_White-necked  Streptocitta albicollis  Found: Indonesia
The White-necked Myna has wo subspecies; the nominate from the southern part of Sulawesi has a yellow-tipped bill, and torquata from the northern part of the island has an all-black bill.
Image by: 1) Charles Lam  2) Darren Bellerby - Edward Youde Aviary, Hong Kong  3) Ed_Coyle - Hong Kong  4) Ethan_Chan


Genus Sturnia

Starling,_Brahminy  Sturnia pagodarum  Found: Asia
The Brahminy Starling has mainly creamy buff plumage; black cap; loose crest; yellow bill with bluish base. Male has more prominent crest than female.
Image by: 1) Cloudtail_the_Snow_Leopard  2, 3) Charles Sharp 4) Mukerjee - Delhi   
2) Male 3) Female


Starling,_Chestnut-tailed  Sturnia malabarica  Found: India and southeastern Asia
The Chestnut-tailed Starling has gray upperparts; light gray head with whitish streaks; rufous underparts (tinged with white in some subspecies); white eyes; yellow bill with pale blue base.
Image by: 1, 2) JM Garg - India  3,  4) Koshy_Koshy - India  6) Davis Kwan  6)  Shantanu_Kuveskar 



Starling,_Malabar   Sturnia blythii  Found: southwest India
Image by: 1) Vijay Cavale  2) Sandeep_Somasekharan


Starling,_White-headed  Sturnia erythropygia  Found: Indian islands of the Andamans and Nicobars
Image by: 1) Nanda Ramesh


Starling,_White-shouldered  Sturnia sinensis  Found: Asia including Malaysia, Philippines
Image by: 1) Olaf_Oliviero_Riemer  2) Ray_Cui  3) Darren



Genus Sturnornus - 1 species

Starling,_White-faced  Sturnornis albofrontatus  Found: Sri Lanka
The White-faced Starling has greenish-gray upperparts; whitish underparts; head paler than underparts.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans   2, 3) Steve Garvie



Genus Sturnus
See also Agropsar, Gracupica.

Starling,_European   also Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris   Native: Europe, Asia Introduced: North America, Africa, Australasia.
European Starling is glossy back to iridescent green depending on lighting conditons. Underparts have white speckles. In summer females have yellow bill, males have yellow bill with blue-gray base. In winter the bill is black.
Similar to: Spotless Starling. European Startling has speckles; Spotless Starling is spotless except for some faint spots in winter plumage.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Scotland  2) Dick - California  3) Dick - Seattle 4) Sandy Cole - National Aviary 5) Dick - Cody, Wyoming  6) Dick - North Carolina   7) Dick - California 8) Dick - Capetown, South Africa 9) Dick - Australia 10) Ted Grussing
 2, 3) Juvenile


Starling,_Spotless Sturnus unicolor  Found: Europe, Africa
The Spotless Starling has glossy black plumage; pink legs; yellow bill in summer with bluish (male) or pinkish (female); bill duller in winter.
Similar to: European Starling. European Startling has speckles; Spotless Starling is spotless except for some faint spots in winter plumage.
Image by: 1, 2) Luis Egido - Madrid  3) Luis Garcia   4) Michael Rosenberg - Spain
1) Winter plumage


Starling,_Vinous-breasted  Sturnus burmannicus  also   Acridotheres burmannicus  Found: southeast Asia, Israel (introduced)
Image by: 1) Dotan_Doron   2) Assafn - Israel  






Back to Top