Alternative name: Bald Starling
- Sarcops calvus
Identification
27cm. A distinctive sturnid.
- Pinkish bare skin covers most of face and head
- Matt black upper nape, lower side of neck, chin and throat
- Black underparts with often concealed white pectoral tuft, flanks with broad grey feather tips
- Silver-grey lower nape, mantle and back
- Dark brown wing
- Wedge-shaped tail black with blue-green gloss
- Pink or dull red to brown eye
- Black bill
- Dark brown legs
- melanonotus is smaller and has a black lower mantle, lowii has paler grey parts
Sexes similar. Juveniles are also similar but the silver ruff is less prominent.
Distribution
Endemic to the Philippines.
Common in most of its range. Often kept as cagebird.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies are recognized:
- S. c. calvus in the northern Philippines (Luzon, Polillo, Catanduanes, Mindoro)
- S. c. melanonotus in central and southern Philippines (Ticao, Samar, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Mindanao)
- S. c. lowii in the Sulu Archipelago, southwest Philippines
Habitat
Forest and forest edge. Also in secondary growth, coconut groves and isolated trees in clearings. Usually found below 1500m.
Behaviour
Feeds on fruits and insects. Takes also flower nectar.
Forages singly or in pairs, sometimes in small groups.
Breeding season from March to September. An obviously monogamous species. The nest is placed in a hole in a dead tree or a rotting trunk. Lays 2 - 3 eggs in captivity.
A resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Coleto. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Coleto
