Synopses & Reviews
The starling family contains some of the most common and some of the rarest birds in the world--ranging from the ubiquitous Common Starling to species restricted to single islands in the South Pacific. Starlings and Mynas is the first comprehensive, one-volume guide to all 114 members of the family.
The main text of the book presents descriptions and illustrations of every species and many distinctive subspecies. It offers extensive information about identification, ecology, and behavior, complemented by thirty-two color plates and distribution maps. The authors also reexamine the classification of starlings in the light of up-to-date knowledge of the birds' ecology and behavior. In the introduction, the authors outline their general approach to the family and provide an overview of the birds' distribution, breeding, behavior, ecology, habitat, and moult. They also review the birds' fascinating interactions with humans, explaining how starlings and mynas have been scorned as pests, used for food, valued as pets and as mimics, and even had religious significance in different parts of the world. With its combination of precise, scientific observations and colorful contextual information, this book will become the definitive guide to this diverse family of birds.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgements | 10 |
| Using this guide | 11 |
| The starling family | 13 |
| Distribution, habitat and social behaviour | 27 |
| Breeding | 32 |
| Moult | 36 |
| Starlings and man | 40 |
| Colour plates and distribution maps | 47 |
| Species accounts | 113 |
1 | Shining Starling | 113 |
2 | Yellow-eyed Starling | 115 |
3 | Singing Starling | 115 |
4 | Tanimbar Starling | 117 |
5 | Atoll Starling | 117 |
6 | Rennell Starling | 118 |
7 | Long-tailed Starling | 118 |
8 | White-eyed Starling | 119 |
9 | Brown-winged Starling | 120 |
10 | Makira Starling | 121 |
11 | Rufous-winged Starling | 122 |
12 | Striated Starling | 123 |
13 | Mountain Starling | 123 |
14 | Asian Glossy Starling | 123 |
15 | Moluccan Starling | 125 |
16 | Short-tailed Starling | 126 |
17 | Micronesian Starling | 127 |
18 | Pohnpei Mountain Starling | 129 |
19 | Polynesian Starling | 129 |
20 | Samoan Starling | 130 |
21 | Rarotonga Starling | 131 |
22 | Yellow-faced Myna | 132 |
23 | Long-tailed Myna | 133 |
24 | Golden-breasted Myna | 133 |
25 | Sulawesi Crested Myna | 134 |
26 | Helmeted Myna | 135 |
27 | Long-crested Myna | 136 |
28 | Apo Myna | 136 |
29 | Coleto | 137 |
30 | White-necked Myna | 138 |
31 | Bare-eyed Myna | 138 |
32 | Flame-browed Starling | 139 |
33 | Grosbeak Myna | 140 |
34 | Spot-winged Starling | 141 |
35 | Madagascar Starling | 142 |
36 | Golden-crested Myna | 143 |
37 | Common Hill Myna | 143 |
38 | Southern Hill Myna | 146 |
39 | Enggano Hill Myna | 147 |
40 | Nias Hill Myna | 147 |
41 | Sri Lanka Hill Myna | 148 |
42 | Great Myna | 148 |
43 | Crested Myna | 149 |
44 | White-vented Myna | 151 |
45 | Pale-bellied Myna | 152 |
46 | Jungle Myna | 153 |
47 | Collared Myna | 154 |
48 | Bank Myna | 155 |
49 | Common Myna | 157 |
50 | Vinous-breasted Myna | 161 |
51 | Black-winged Myna | 162 |
52 | Bali Myna | 163 |
53 | Black-collared Myna | 166 |
54 | Asian Pied Myna | 167 |
55 | Purple-backed Starling | 168 |
56 | Red-cheeked Starling | 170 |
57 | White-shouldered Starling | 172 |
58 | Chestnut-tailed Starling | 173 |
59 | White-headed Starling | 174 |
60 | White-faced Starling | 175 |
61 | Brahminy Starling | 175 |
62 | Rose-coloured Starling | 177 |
63 | Red-billed Starling | 181 |
64 | White-cheeked Starling | 182 |
65 | Common Starling | 183 |
66 | Spotless Starling | 189 |
67 | Wattled Starling | 192 |
68 | Cape Glossy Starling | 197 |
69 | Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling | 199 |
70 | Lesser Blue-eared Glossy Starling | 201 |
71 | Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling | 203 |
72 | Splendid Glossy Starling | 203 |
73 | Principle Glossy Starling | 206 |
74 | Emerald Starling | 207 |
75 | Purple Glossy Starling | 208 |
76 | Ruppell's Long-tailed Glossy Starling | 209 |
77 | Long-tailed Glossy Starling | 210 |
78 | Golden-breasted Starling | 211 |
79 | Meves' Long-tailed Glossy Starling | 212 |
80 | Burchell's Glossy Starling | 214 |
81 | Sharp-tailed Glossy Starling | 215 |
82 | Black-bellied Glossy Starling | 216 |
83 | Superb Starling | 218 |
84 | Hildebrandt's Starling | 219 |
85 | Shelley's Starling | 220 |
86 | Chestnut-bellied Starling | 221 |
87 | Purple-headed Glossy Starling | 222 |
88 | Coppery-tailed Starling | 223 |
89 | Amethyst Starling | 224 |
90 | African Pied Starling | 227 |
91 | Fischer's Starling | 229 |
92 | Ashy Starling | 230 |
93 | White-crowned Starling | 231 |
94 | Red-winged Starling | 232 |
95 | Slender-billed Red-winged Starling | 234 |
96 | Chestnut-winged Starling | 236 |
97 | Waller's Red-winged Starling | 237 |
98 | Somali Red-winged Starling | 238 |
99 | Socotra Red-winged Starling | 239 |
100 | Tristram's Red-winged Starling | 240 |
101 | Pale-winged Starling | 241 |
102 | Bristle-crowned Starling | 242 |
103 | White-billed Starling | 243 |
104 | Neumann's Red-winged Starling | 244 |
105 | Narrow-tailed Starling | 245 |
106 | Stuhlmann's Starling | 246 |
107 | Kenrick's Starling | 247 |
108 | Sharpe's Starling | 248 |
109 | Abbott's Starling | 249 |
110 | White-collared Starling | 249 |
111 | Magpie Starling | 250 |
112 | White-winged Babbling Starling | 251 |
113 | Red-billed Oxpecker | 252 |
114 | Yellow-billed Oxpecker | 257 |
| Bibliography | 260 |
| Index of species | 282 |