White-cheeked Starling
Spodiopsar cineraceus
This rather grimy-looking species is a familiar presence in many open habitats. Dark gray-brown overall with white cheeks of varying size, usually streaked with dark gray; white sometimes covers most of the head. White rump and underwing coverts obvious when in flight. Constantly gives high-pitched chattering calls when foraging in flocks.
识别特征
White-cheeked starlings are 24 cm in length. The adult male is mainly dark grey-brown with a paler belly and a whitish band across the rump. The head is blackish with whitish cheeks and forehead. There is a white border to the tail and white markings on the secondary wing feathers. The legs are pale orange and the bill is orange with a black tip. Adult females are similar to the males but paler and duller.<p>The juvenile is brown with pale cheeks and rump and no black tip to the bill.<p>The loud, monotonous call is a series of harsh, creaking notes.
分类信息
The white-cheeked starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic. In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the white-cheeked starling and the red-billed starling were moved to the resurrected genus Spodiopsar that had been introduced in 1889 by Richard Bowdler Sharpe. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- 学名
- Spodiopsar cineraceus
- 命名信息
- (Temminck, 1835)
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Sturnidae
- 属
- Spodiopsar
分布与栖息地
The breeding range covers central and north-east China, Korea, Japan and south-east Siberia. In winter, birds from colder regions migrate south to southern and eastern China, South Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan and northern Vietnam with vagrants reaching the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar. There is a record from Homer, Alaska in 1998 which probably arrived with a ship (West 2002).<p>It inhabits woodland, farmland, and open country and has also adapted to parks and gardens in urban areas. It is most common in lowland areas (usually below 700m in Japan).<p>It has a varied diet which includes fruit and insects such as mole crickets.<p>The breeding season lasts from March to July and often two clutches of eggs are laid during that time. The nest is built in a hole in a tree or building or in a nestbox. Four to nine eggs are laid and are incubated for 14 to 15 days. The young birds fledge 13 to 15 days after hatching.
- 繁殖区
- PAL : se Russia and Japan to c China and Korean Pen.
- 非繁殖区
- se China
- 迁徙
- Complete migrants
行为
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- unknown
照片
分布
鸟叫声
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Bostrychia hagedash
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