Appearance

Appearance

This chunky starling is about 9.4 in (24 cm) long. It is dark gray-brown with pale cheeks, a white rump, orange legs, and an orange bill tipped in black.

Voice

Foraging flocks give nearly constant high-pitched, chattering calls.

Look-alikes

European StarlingSturnus vulgaris

The common U.S. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is glossy and dark in summer and heavily spotted in fresh winter plumage. A White-cheeked Starling instead shows pale cheeks and a bold white rump, plus an orange bill with a black tip.

Why they get mixed up · Both are chunky, short-tailed starlings that feed on lawns in flocks.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• farmland
• open woodland
• city parks and gardens

Range

It breeds from Korea and Japan through northeastern China and southeastern Russia. Birds from colder areas move south in winter.

Seasonal presence

It is an East Asian resident or short-distance migrant, not an established U.S. species.

Behavior

Diet

It eats fruit and insects and often searches for food on the ground.

Social life

It commonly feeds in flocks and can gather in large communal roosts outside the breeding season.

Life cycle

Breeding season

Breeding runs from March through July across its range.

Nest

A pair uses a cavity in a tree or building, or a nest box.

Clutch size

4–9 eggs

Name and classification

About the name

Older references may call it Sturnus cineraceus. It is also called the gray starling.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

LCLeast Concern·Low risk of extinction