Rosy Starling

Overview

The rosy starling (Pastor roseus), also known as the rose-coloured starling, is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It is a highly gregarious species that breeds in the steppes of Central Asia and Southeast Europe, migrating to India for the winter.

Identification

• Plumage: Distinctive pink body contrasting with a glossy black head, wings and tail; breeding males possess a wispy black crest that fluffs when excited.
• Size: Approximately 19–22 cm in length with a weight of 60–88 g, similar in size to a common starling.
• Bill: Bright pink tip with a black base in breeding plumage, turning grey in winter.
• Song: A typical starling mixture of squeaks and rattles, accompanied by much wing trembling.

Habitat

Breeds in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts across Central Asia and Southeast Europe, extending from northwestern Mongolia to southern Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. It is a strong migrant that winters in India, where it often outnumbers local starlings and mynas.

Diet

Feeds chiefly on insects such as locusts and grasshoppers during the summer, with fruit, berries, flower nectar and cereal grains becoming more important in winter. The species is omnivorous but strongly prefers insects, and is attracted to flowering trees.

Did you know?

In Xinjiang, China, the introduction of artificial nests to attract rosy starlings for biological control was so successful that locust populations declined to the point where juveniles of the starling species began dying from hunger.