Chestnut-tailed Starling
Sturnia malabarica
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilySturnidae (Starlings)
- GenusSturnia (Sturnia Starlings)
- SpeciesSturnia malabarica (Chestnut-tailed Starling)
About the Chestnut-tailed Starling
The chestnut-tailed starling (Sturnia malabarica), also called grey-headed starling and grey-headed myna is a member of the starling family. It is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia. The species name is after the distribution of a former subspecies in the Malabar region. While the chestnut-tailed starling is a winter visitor to peninsular India, the closely related resident breeding population with a white head is now treated as a full species, the Malabar starling (Sturnia blythii).
The chestnut-tailed starling was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the thrushes in the genus Turdus and coined the binomial name Turdus malabaricus. Gmelin based his account on the "Le Martin Vieillard de la côte de Malabar" that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in his book Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine.
The chestnut-tailed starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Manas National Park
Brahminy Starling
Sturnia pagodarum
Jungle Myna
Acridotheres fuscus
Indian Pied Starling
Gracupica contra
Common Hill Myna
Gracula religiosa
White-vented Myna
Acridotheres grandis
Spot-winged Starling
Saroglossa spiloptera
Bank Myna
Acridotheres ginginianus
Black Drongo
Dicrurus macrocercus
Siberian Stonechat
Saxicola maurus
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Pycnonotus jocosus
Oriental Magpie-Robin
Copsychus saularis
Black-hooded Oriole
Oriolus xanthornus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 3 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 5 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 15 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 20 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 21 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 22 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 23 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 24 | Khangchendzonga National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Chestnut-tailed Starling in Manas National Park?
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-tailed Starling sighting in Manas National Park, based on 749 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Chestnut-tailed Starling in Manas National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Chestnut-tailed Starling in Manas National Park in our monthly data.