Asian Glossy Starling (Aplonis panayensis)

OTHER NAMES: Philippine Glossy Starling, Indonesian Tree Starling, Borean Starling

Latin Etymology: Aplonis ("plain bird") panayensis ("of Panay" an Island in the Philippines)

Adult Asian Glossy Starling (subspecies A. p. strigata) at Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur - July 2016

Featured Subspecies: Aplonis panayensis strigata
Weight: 50-60g  /  Length: 20cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Quite possibly the most abundant species I saw in my entire trip to Malaysia and Singapore, it was found in at least small numbers everywhere I visited.  It's a fairly distinctive looking bird, with the red-eye that gives it its Malay name giving it a slightly menacing look.  It's a species that is spread fairly widely over South East Asia and being divided up over a lot of islands has resulted in a large number of subspecies.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Aplonis
SUBSPECIES: A. p. affinis, A. p. strigata, A. p. tytleri, A. p. albiris, A. p. heterochlora, A. p. eustathis, A. p. alipodis, A. p. panayensis, A. p. sanghirensis, A. p. sanghirensis, A. p. enganensis, A. p. altirostris, A. p. leptorrhyncha, A. p. pachistorhina, A. p. gusti

 - Sighting Locations -

MALAYSIA - Malay - Perling Mata Merah ("Red-eyed Starling")

Abundant resident.

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Common throughout including Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Genting Highlands.
SINGAPORE - Abundant resident.

 - MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE 2016 TRIP: Dozens seen near Lower Peirce Reservoir.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto