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| − | '''Alternative names: Gray Starling, Grey Starling, Ashy Starling.''';Sturnus cineraceus | + | '''Alternative names: Gray Starling, Grey Starling, Ashy Starling.''' |
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| + | ;Sturnus cineraceus | ||
[[Image:White-cheeked_Starling.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Marysan<br />Photo taken: Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand.]] | [[Image:White-cheeked_Starling.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Marysan<br />Photo taken: Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand.]] | ||
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
Revision as of 14:37, 8 August 2008
Alternative names: Gray Starling, Grey Starling, Ashy Starling.
- Sturnus cineraceus
Identification
9.5" (24 cm.) Sexes similar. Head and throat black with white grizzling, the latter concentrated in white cheek patches; back, lower breast and belly dark grey; wings dark grey with blackish primaries, a narrow white wing-bar on secondaries; vent and rump white, the latter noticeable in flight; tail blackish-grey, with white tips on outer feathers. Female a bit paler and duller coloured. Bill yellow with a black tip, feet orange. Juvenile head grey with white cheeks and throat.
Distribution
Siberia south through China and Japan to N Indochina, N Myanmar, and the Philippines. Breeds in N and E China and Japan, winters further south.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Prefers open country and cultivated areas with scattered trees.
Behaviour
Voice: A creaky chir-chir-chay-cheet-cheet.
Forages in flocks, feeding largely on the ground.
