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PLATE 92: STARLINGS I
Rosy Starling Pastor roseus PM, WV
L: 21. Black-and-pink male unmistakable; long crest raised when singing; female similar but
more sombre. Juvenile lacks crest; from young Common Starling by shorter yellow bill with culmen
curved (longer, darker, straight in Common Starling), pale lores, paler grey-brown upperparts with
whitish-grey rump and dirty whitish underparts (Common Starling is drab brown, with dark loral
streak). Gregarious. Voice Calls resemble Common Starling; rapid, high-pitched, musical chatter
from feeding flocks. Song a lively chattering jumble mixed with melodious warbling. Habitat Open
country, near agriculture, livestock, farmsteads. Note Passage hatched; some winter in Arabia. [Alt:
Rose-coloured Starling]Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris wv
L: 21. Short tail and short, pointed, triangular-shaped wings with fast, straight flight with frequent
glides or brief wing-closures characteristic. Breeding adult has glossy-green, blackish plumage
with numerous minute white spots, though spots almost absent in summer in some subspecies
breeding in region, notably E Iran and Arabia, in which mantle and breast purple, and E Turkey to W
Iran, which has bluish-green on mantle and bronzy sheen on head. Juvenile drab brown, moulting
to blackish with prominent white spots in first-winter, resembling winter adult. Gregarious,
roosting flocks sometimes huge; feeds aerially or on the ground; walks quickly. Voice Fast song,
varied, whistles, strained whines and descending seeeoo, incorporating fine imitations. Flight call a
short buzzing tcheer, alarm a hard kjet; at nest, a grating stahh. Habitat Towns, villages, farmland,
woods, parks, lawns. Post-breeding, often roosts in reedbeds. Nests in hole in tree, building or nest-
box. Note Passage and winter hatched. [Alt: Eurasian Starling]Wattled Starling Creatophora cinerea pm, wv
L: 22. Resembles Rose-coloured Starling but bill stronger and wing-tip slightly blunter. Juvenile,
most often seen in region, is cold grey-brown above, paler below, with pale fringes to coverts and
tertials and whitish rump; from young Rose-coloured Starling by pale upperwing-coverts, naked
malar region and lack of pale fringes to flight feathers. Adult male has bare yellow head with
black wattles; outside breeding season resembles female, both sexes then showing creamy-
white rump, fleshy-yellow bill, buffish greater coverts, white spot on leading primary coverts,
yellowish area around eye, diffuse loral spot and moustachial streak. Voice Soft squeaky whistle.
Habitat Open bush and savanna. Note Rare and irregular visitor to hatched area; vagrant UAE.Violet-backed Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster V
L: 19. Male unmistakable with iridescent violet-purple upperparts, head and breast (but can look
black or red), rest of underparts white, eye yellow. Dark brown female has dark streaks on white
breast below brownish throat, belly whiter; eye yellow or chestnut, but dark in otherwise similar
juvenile. May flick wings singly when perched. Mostly in small groups, fairly shy. Flight direct. Voice
Song a loud, metallic gurgling warble; call a ringing, grating musical squeal with rising inflection
ending in quiet chuckle, latter also heard when flushed. Habitat Plains, hills and wadis with fruiting
trees, mainly between 500 and 2000m. Nests in hole in tree. Note Vagrant Israel, Oman, UAE. [Alt:
Amethyst Starling]Superb Starling Lamprotornis superbus E/I
L: 19. Unmistakable. Adults have glossy blue upperparts and breast, green wings, whitish eyes,
a narrow cream breast-band, rusty belly and white vent and underwing. Duller-plumaged juvenile
lacks cream breast-band and has dark eyes. Often swaggering and confiding. Voice A rising and
falling chattering jumble of notes. Habitat Parks and gardens, open scrub, golf courses, near
villages or other settlements. Note Not native; breeding populations originate from escapes (from
Africa). In Oman, a small population may be resident near Muscat International Airport.