Metallic Starling
Aplonis metallica
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilySturnidae (Starlings)
- GenusAplonis (Pacific Starlings)
- SpeciesAplonis metallica (Metallic Starling)
About the Metallic Starling
The metallic starling (Aplonis metallica), also known as the shining starling, is a bird in the starling family native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, Queensland and the Solomon Islands. The metallic starling was formally described and illustrated as Lamprotornis metallicus in 1824 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. He mistakenly specified the locality as Timor and Celebres but this has been corrected to the island of Ambon in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The metallic starling is now one of 24 starlings placed in the genus Aplonis that was introduced in 1836 by the English ornithologist John Gould.
Five subspecies are recognised: A. m. metallica (Temminck, CJ, 1824) – Moluccas, Sula Islands, New Guinea including Aru Islands, and northeastern Australia (Cape York Peninsula southward to Sarina, northern Queensland) A. m. nitida (Gray, GR, 1858) – Admiralty Islands (Rambutyo, Tong, and outer Islands), Bismarck Archipelago, and Solomon Islands
A. m. purpureiceps (Salvadori, AT, 1878) – Admiralty Islands (Manus Island and Los Negros Islands) A. m. inornata (Salvadori, AT, 1881) – Numfor and Biak (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea) A. m. circumscripta... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Singing Starling
Aplonis cantoroides
Moluccan Starling
Aplonis mysolensis
Yellow-faced Myna
Mino dumontii
Golden Myna
Mino anais
Willie Wagtail
Rhipidura leucophrys
Helmeted Friarbird
Philemon buceroides
Pacific Swallow
Hirundo javanica
Torresian Crow
Corvus orru
Glossy-mantled Manucode
Manucodia ater
Red Bird-of-Paradise
Paradisaea rubra
Shining Flycatcher
Myiagra alecto
Hooded Butcherbird
Cracticus cassicus
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 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Metallic Starling in Raja Ampat?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Metallic Starling sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 349 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Metallic Starling in Raja Ampat?
November has the highest sighting rate for Metallic Starling in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.