Sunday 17 March 2019

Asian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra)

OTHER NAMES: Pied Myna
Latin Etymology: Gracupica ("jackdaw magpie") contra (Bengali name for species)
Adult Pied Starling (subspecies G. c. floweri) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Gracupica contra floweri
Weight: 72-82g  /  Length: 22cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Asian Pied starling is a slightly odd looking bird - the fact the bright orange beak links up with a similarly coloured circle around the eye gives the impression of a bigger beak than it actually has, and combined with the stark black and white patterning almost gives a slightly artificially designed sort of look to it.  It's a fairly common resident of Southern Asia.

Related Species:
ORDER: Passeriformes
FAMILY: Sturnidae
GENUS: Gracupica
SUBSPECIES: G. c. contra, G. c. sordidus, G. c. superciliaris, G. c. floweri, G. c. jalla

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA - Khmer -  គ្រលីងគ្រលោងត្រចៀកស ("white earrings")
A resident
SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - One seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

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

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