Sturnidae: Starlings
The starlings are a diverse family of sturdy songbirds that occur throughout most of the Old World from Macaronesia in the eastern Atlantic to Polynesia in the central Pacific. Most species are indigenous to either sub-Saharan Africa or the greater Indonesian archipelago, but the family’s most familiar members and their close relatives are predominantly Asian.
One member, the European Starling (Sternus vulgaris), is among the most successful and widespread invasive exotic birds in the world, and has caused populations of many other birds to decline. Another member, the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), is an up-and-coming contender in the tropics.
The name starling seems almost absurdly inappropriate for the family as a whole, as it refers to the most distinctive plumage feature of one widespread species, the European Starling, which no other family member shares. But perhaps the name has a reasonable reinterpretation: although no other starling species has small white spots on a black background, much of the family is remarkably shiny compared to most songbirds, and this could be seen as a star-like quality.
The Indian synonym myna applies generically to some groups of Asian starlings. This term originates from the Hindi word for “pet,” which indicates the popularity of certain species as cagebirds—especially the Common Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa), which is prized as a mimic of human speech and has been heavily persecuted for the pet trade.
Taxonomy
The Sturnidae comprise approximately 121 to 133 living species, plus 6 that have gone extinct in modern times. Species-level taxonomy is generally stable across the family, although there are a few scattered cases of speciation in progress whose resolution remains ambiguous.
Advanced genetic analyses have resulted in two major revisions to the family tree: the inclusion of the four “Philippine creepers,” or rhabdornises, which were previously regarded as a separate family (Rhabdornidae), and the exclusion of the starling-like African oxpeckers as a separate family, the Buphagidae.
Metallic Starling (Aplonis metallica)
Violet-hooded Starling (Aplonis circumscripta)
Yellow-eyed Starling (Aplonis mystacea)
Singing Starling (Aplonis cantoroides)
Tanimbar Starling (Aplonis crassa)
Atoll Starling (Aplonis feadensis)
Rennell Starling (Aplonis insularis)
Long-tailed Starling (Aplonis magna)
White-eyed Starling (Aplonis brunneicapillus)
Brown-winged Starling (Aplonis grandis)
Makira Starling (Aplonis dichroa)
Rusty-winged Starling (Aplonis zelandica)
Striated Starling (Aplonis striata)
Norfolk Starling (Aplonis fusca) †
Mountain Starling (Aplonis santovestris)
Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis)
Moluccan Starling (Aplonis mysolensis)
Short-tailed Starling (Aplonis minor)
Micronesian Starling (Aplonis opaca)
Pohnpei Starling (Aplonis pelzelni)
Polynesian Starling (Aplonis tabuensis)
“Polynesian Starling” (A. t. tabuensis)
“Manua Starling” (A. t. manuae)
Samoan Starling (Aplonis atrifusca)
Kosrae Starling (Aplonis corvina) †
Mauke Starling (Aplonis mavornata) †
Raiatea Starling (Aplonis ulietensis) †
Rarotonga Starling (Aplonis cinerascens)
Yellow-faced Myna (Mino dumontii)
Long-tailed Myna (Mino kreffti)
Golden Myna (Mino anais)
Sulawesi Myna (Basilornis celebensis)
Helmeted Myna (Basilornis galeatus)
Long-crested Myna (Basilornis corythaix)
Apo Myna (Goodfellowia miranda)
Coleto (Sarcops calvus)
White-necked Myna (Streptocitta albicollis)
“Northern White-necked Myna” (S. a.torquata)
“Southern White-necked Myna” (S. a. albicollis)
Bare-eyed Myna (Streptocitta albertinae)
Fiery-browed Starling (Enodes erythrophris)
Grosbeak Starling (Scissirostrum dubium)
Spot-winged Starling (Saroglossa spilopterus)
Golden-crested Myna (Ampeliceps coronatus)
Sri Lanka Hill Myna (Gracula ptilogenys)
Southern Hill Myna (Gracula indica)
Common Hill Myna (Gracula religiosa)
“Common Hill Myna” (G. r. religiosa)
“Enggano Hill Myna” (G. r. enganensis)
Tenggara Hill Myna (Gracula venerata)
Nias Hill Myna (Gracula robusta)
Great Myna (Acridotheres grandis)
Crested Myna (Acridotheres cristatellus)
Javan Myna (Acridotheres javanicus)
Pale-bellied Myna (Acridotheres cinereus)
Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus)
Collared Myna (Acridotheres albocinctus)
Bank Myna (Acridotheres ginginianus)
Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Black-winged Starling (Acridotheres melanopterus)
“Black-winged Starling” (A. m. melanopterus)
“Gray-backed Starling” (A. m. tricolor)
“Gray-rumped Starling” (A. m. tertius)
Burmese Starling (Acridotheres burmannicus)
Vinous-breasted Starling (Acridotheres leucocephalus)
Red-billed Starling (Spodiopsar sericeus)
White-cheeked Starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus)
Black-collared Starling (Gracupica nigricollis)
Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra)
“Asian Pied Starling” (G. c. contra)
“Javan Pied Starling” (G. c. jalla)
Daurian Starling (Agropsar sturninus)
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (Agropsar philippensis)
White-shouldered Starling (Sturnia sinensis)
Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica)
White-headed Starling (Sturnia erythropygia)
Malabar Starling (Sturnia blythii)
Brahminy Starling (Sturnia pagodarum)
White-faced Starling (Sturnornis albofrontatus)
Bali Myna (Leucopsar rothschildi)
Hoopoe Starling (Fregilupus varius) †
Rodrigues Starling (Necropsar rodericanus) †
Rosy Starling (Pastor roseus)
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor)
Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)
Black-bellied Starling (Notopholia corusca)
Purple-headed Starling (Hylopsar purpureiceps)
Copper-tailed Starling (Hylopsar cupreocauda)
Cape Starling (Lamprotornis nitens)
Greater Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)
Lesser Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis chloropterus)
Miombo Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis elisabeth)
Bronze-tailed Starling (Lamprotornis chalcurus)
Splendid Starling (Lamprotornis splendidus)
Principe Starling (Lamprotornis ornatus)
Emerald Starling (Lamprotornis iris)
Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus)
Rüppell’s Starling (Lamprotornis purpuroptera)
Long-tailed Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis caudatus)
Golden-breasted Starling (Lamprotornis regius)
Meves’s Starling (Lamprotornis mevesii)
“Meves’s Starling” (L. m. mevesii)
“Cunene Starling” (L. m. violacior)
“Benguela Starling” (L. m. benguelensis)
Burchell’s Starling (Lamprotornis australis)
Sharp-tailed Starling (Lamprotornis acuticaudus)
Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)
Hildebrandt’s Starling (Lamprotornis hildebrandti)
Shelley’s Starling (Lamprotornis shelleyi)
Chestnut-bellied Starling (Lamprotornis pulcher)
Ashy Starling (Lamprotornis unicolor)
Fischer’s Starling (Lamprotornis fischeri)
African Pied Starling (Lamprotornis bicolor)
White-crowned Starling (Lamprotornis albicapillus)
Madagascan Starling (Hartlaubius auratus)
Violet-backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)
Red-winged Starling (Onychognathus morio)
Slender-billed Starling (Onychognathus tenuirostris)
Chestnut-winged Starling (Onychognathus fulgidus)
“Chestnut-winged Starling” (O. f. fulgidus)
“Hartlaub’s Starling” (O. f. hartlaubi)
Waller’s Starling (Onychognathus walleri)
“Preuss’s Starling” (O. w. preussi)
“Albertine Starling” (O. w. elgonensis)
“Waller’s Starling” (O. w. walleri)
Somali Starling (Onychognathus blythii)
Socotra Starling (Onychognathus frater)
Tristram’s Starling (Onychognathus tristramii)
Pale-winged Starling (Onychognathus nabouroup)
Bristle-crowned Starling (Onychognathus salvadorii)
White-billed Starling (Onychognathus albirostris)
Neumann’s Starling (Onychognathus neumanni)
Stuhlmann’s Starling (Poeoptera stuhlmanni)
Kenrick’s Starling (Poeoptera kenricki)
Narrow-tailed Starling (Poeoptera lugubris)
Abbott’s Starling (Poeoptera femoralis)
Sharpe’s Starling (Pholia sharpii)
White-collared Starling (Grafisia torquata)
Magpie Starling (Speculipastor bicolor)
Babbling Starling (Neocichla gutturalis)
“Western Babbling Starling” (N. g. gutturalis)
“Eastern Babbling Starling” (N. g. angusta)
Stripe-headed Rhabdornis (Rhabdornis mystacalis)
Stripe-breasted Rhabdornis (Rhabdornis inornatus)
Long-billed Rhabdornis (Rhabdornis grandis)
Visayan Rhabdornis (Rhabdornis rabori)
References
Feare, C., A. Craig, B. Croucher, C. Shields, and K. Komolphalin. 1999. Starlings and Mynas. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Hume, J.P. 2017. Extinct Birds (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London.
Roberson, D. 2001. Bird Families of the World: Oxpeckers, Buphagidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/oxpeckers.html. (Posted July 28, 2001. Accessed April 26, 2020.)
Roberson, D. 2016. Bird Families of the World: Starlings, Mynas & Allies, Sturnidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/starlings.html. (Posted February 21, 2016. Accessed April 26, 2020.)