Asian Glossy Starling
Aplonis panayensis
Fierce-looking, large songbird with a thick, decurved bill. Adult dark with greenish gloss in good light. Juvenile dark gray-brown above with a heavily streaked white belly. Most have ruby-red eyes, but birds in the central and southern Nicobar Islands have pale irises. Prefers urban and suburban areas; a common sight in cities, towns, parks, and farmland areas. Frequently seen perching on telephone wires, fence posts, and buildings, often in very large, noisy flocks. Native to Southeast and South Asia; introduced to Taiwan, where fairly common.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Aplonis panayensis
- Authority
- (Scopoli, 1786)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Aplonis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Blue Whistling-Thrush
Myophonus caeruleus
Large, found along streams in forested hills and mountains. Dark purple with tiny silvery spots on head, back, and wings. Bill color varies with range: dark in central and eastern China and parts of mainland Southeast Asia, bright yellow in populations elsewhere. Frequently fans tail while standing on an exposed perch such as a waterside rock or overhanging branch. True to its name, it does whistle: a long piercing note that carries well over the sound of rushing water.
Fulvous-dotted Treerunner
Margarornis stellatus
A uniquely-marked little Furnariid. Very uncommon in restricted range on the west slope of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador. Mostly bright orange-rufous with a dazzling white throat that bleeds down into bold speckles on upper breast. Singles or pairs forage with mixed-species flocks, usually hitching along mossy branches in the middle to upper levels. Occurs in humid mossy forest from around 1,200–2,200 m, typically at lower elevations than Pearled Treerunner.
Purple-throated Mountain-gem
Lampornis calolaemus
Stunning medium-sized hummingbird. Male shows bright purple throat, blue crown, and white line behind eye. Female not quite as colorful but still striking: bright buffy underparts with black cheek and white line behind eye. She is very similar to female White-bellied Mountain-gem but has greener tail; only safely identified with a good view. A forest hummingbird of middle elevations that also comes out to edges and gardens, visits feeders.
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