Alternative name: Grosbeak Starling
- Scissirostrum dubium
Identification
20cm. A smallish starling with a massive bill.
- Dark grey plumage, darker on wing and tail
- Massive orange-yellow bill
- Bright red waxy tips on stiff and elongated feathers on rump and uppertail-coverts
- Very dark brown eye
- Orange-yellow legs
Sexes similar
Juveniles are mouse-brown, have a blackish eye and a slender and paler bill than adults.
Distribution
Found on Sulawesi and some nearby islands (Bangka, Lembeh, Togian Islands, Buton and Banggai Islands) in Indonesia.
Widespread and common.
This species is widely traded. There are now feral populations in cities on Java (including Jakarta) and Borneo.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Forest edge, lightly wooded areas and plantations. Occurs from sea-level up to 1000m, occasionally higher.
Behaviour
A highly gregarious species, usually seen in flocks of up to 150 birds. Forages often together with Short-tailed Starling.
Diet
Feeds on fruit, seeds and insects.
Breeding
Breeding recorded in May. A monogamous species. Breeds in colonies with up to hundreds of nest. Bores a nest-hole in a dead wood, trees sometimes collapses as to many holes are made in one tree. Lays 2 eggs, in wild usually only one young produced per nest.
Movement
A resident species with some local movements.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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) Finch-billed Myna. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Finch-billed_Myna
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
