All species › Passerines › Starlings
Starlings | Sturnidae
Spreeuwen | Estorninos
Robust birds with a straight pointed bill and strong legs; they walk purposefully over the ground rather than hop. They feed by pushing the closed bill into the turf and forcing it open there — the jaw muscles are built for it, and the eyes are set far enough forward for the bird to look down along the open bill. In many species the plumage is metallic, a gloss that comes from feather structure rather than pigment, often flecked with pale spots. They are thoroughly social: flocks while feeding, communal roosts, and nest holes close together; many species are accomplished mimics.
Native species 7 species
Species that occur here by nature: breeding birds, winter visitors and passage migrants. They are arranged by genus, in the sequence of the list.
Sturnus 2 species
Pastor 1 species
Cinnyricinclus 1 species
Onychognathus 3 species
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Somali Starling
Onychognathus blythii
Mountains and rock formations
Gorges and canyons
Subtropical montane and juniper forest
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Socotra Starling
Onychognathus frater- Mountains and rock formations
- Subtropical montane and juniper forest
Wadis and dry riverbeds
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Tristram's Starling
Onychognathus tristramii- Gorges and canyons
- Mountains and rock formations
Gardens, parks and buildings
Introduced species 4 species
Species that do not occur here by nature but were brought in or escaped and have held on since. They follow the sequence of the list, not the genera.
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Common Myna
Acridotheres tristis- Gardens, parks and buildings
Fields and irrigated farmland
Orchards, olive and date plantations
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Burmese Myna
Acridotheres burmannicus- Gardens, parks and buildings
- Orchards, olive and date plantations
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Bank Myna
Acridotheres ginginianus- Gardens, parks and buildings
- Fields and irrigated farmland
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Indian Pied Myna
Gracupica contra- Gardens, parks and buildings
- Fields and irrigated farmland
Vagrants 2 species
Birds blown in from other continents. They have no range here, and so no distribution map.
