Alternative Name: Little Starling, also the Alternative Name for Singing Starling with which it may form a superspecies
- Aplonis crassa
Identification
20cm, 7.9 inches A medium-sized Starling with a sturdy bill.
- Dark charcoal-black head and body with metallic green gloss
- Lanceolate feathers on crown and throat
- Dark brown wing and tail with little gloss
- Dark brown eye
- Black legs and bill
Sexes similar. Juveniles are mousy brown above and buff below with heavy streaking.
Distribution
Endemic to the Tanimbar Islands of Larat and Yamdena, Indonesia.
Locally common but has a very small global range.
Taxonomy
A monotypic species.[1]
May form a superspecies with Singing Starling.
Habitat
Variety of forest habitats including mangroves.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on fruit, takes probably also insects.
Forages singly, in pairs or small groups. Flocks of up to 200 birds recorded.
Breeding
No information is currently available.
Vocalisation
Harsh discordant piping and metallic calls from flocks, similar calls repeated at intervals by individual birds.
Movement
Presumably a resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- 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
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Tanimbar Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tanimbar_Starling
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
