Brahminy Starling - BirdForum Opus

Photo by obasanmi
Bandhavgarh, India, March 2005

Alternative names: Black-headed Mynah; Pagoda Myna

Temenuchus pagodarum, Sturnia pagodarum

Identification

20cm. A small starling with a long wispy crest.

Juvenile
Photo by Ains
Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India, July 2010

Sexes similar, males have a longer and blacker crest. Juveniles are much duller, have a sooty-brown head and lack the crest.

Asia: found from northeast Afghanistan east over Pakistan, India to southern Nepal and rarely in Bangladesh. Non-breeding visitors in Sri Lanka.
Vagrants recorded in northeast India, Burma, Thailand, Singapore and China but these may also be escaped cagebirds.
Common in most of its range.

This is a monotypic species^[1] which is sometimes placed in the genus Temenuchus or alternatively in Sturnia.

Dry forest, jungle and scrub. Also visits gardens. Prefers waterlogged areas. Found in lowlands and hills up to 1800m.

Feeds on insects, other invertebrates, fruit, berries, flowers and nectar.
Forages on the ground, often walking among cattle. Associates often with other species like Chestnut-tailed Starling, Asian Pied Starling, Common Myna or Jungle Myna.

Breeding season mainly April to August. A monogamous, usually solitary species, sometimes in loose colonies. It nests in holes and 3-5 eggs are laid.

Mainly resident, birds from the northern part of the range (Afghanistan, Kashmir) migrate south.

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
AvianWeb

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brahminy Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brahminy_Starling