Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
Agropsar philippensis
Family: Rhabdornis, Starlings, and Mynas · Status: Vagrant · Size: 16.5–17 cm · Conservation: Least Concern
Breeds from Sakhalin to northern Japan, wintering to southern Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo.
Adult male has buffy-white head with chestnut patch on the ear-coverts and variably on neck sides and lower throat; glossy violet mantle and back, white median wing-coverts, grey underparts. Female lacks the chestnut patch; browner overall with a narrower white wingbar. Adult males distinguished from Daurian Starling by the prominent white head with chestnut pattern. Female and juvenile Chestnut-cheeked Starling lacks whitish tips to the scapulars, greater coverts, and tertials present in female Daurian Starling.
Open habitats, woodland edges, and gardens; uses coastal and disturbed vegetation on passage.
Feeds on insects and fruit, foraging in treetops and on the ground. In Singapore often found mixing with Daurian Starlings.