| Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves (Birds) Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae |
Purple-backed Starling (Sturnus sturninus), also called Daurian Myna or Daurian Starling, is a vagrant in Himalayas (also probably breeds in Himalayas) and a winter vagrant in Andaman and Nicobar islands of India. Identification: Size: 19 cm. The Purple-backed Starling has a pale grey head, nape and underparts, a purplish black patch on the hind crown, a purplish-black mantle and glossy greenish-black wings. It has a very short blackish tail and two whitish wing bars. Iris brown. Legs and toes horny, tinged with green. Sexes alike, female slightly dull colored. Call: Typical harsh starling whistling and whickering notes. Food: It feeds on fruits, berries, nectar and insects. Distribution: This bird is a vagrant in India and is also found in Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia. Probably breeds in the Himalayas, Tibet, China and Mongolia and migrates to south-east Asia and South Asia in the winters. The species mostly inhabits open woody areas. |
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