Daurian Starling

Agropsar sturninus

Family: Rhabdornis, Starlings, and Mynas · Status: Common migrant · Size: 17–19 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Breeds in eastern Mongolia, southeastern Russia, northeastern and central China, and North Korea, wintering to Southeast Asia including the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java.

Identification

Male has pale greyish head and underparts, glossy dark purplish nape-patch and upperparts, glossy dark upperwings with two white wingbars, and black tail. Female and juvenile are browner and with no glossy plumage, but retain pale wingbars though they might sometimes be worn and improminent. Compared with Chestnut-cheeked Starling, adult male lacks chestnut on the ear-coverts; female best separated in flight, as Chestnut-cheeked Starling lacks whitish tips to scapulars and wing-coverts. Lacks the large white shoulder patch in White-shouldered Starling and has black instead of white iris.

Habitat

Woodland edges, secondary growth, coastal vegetation, gardens, and parks.

Behaviour

Highly gregarious; forms flocks of up to a thousand birds on passage. Often associates with Asian Glossy Starlings.