Singing starlings
| Singing starlings | ||||||||||||
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Weaver star ( Aplonis metallica ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Aplonis | ||||||||||||
| Gould , 1836 |
The singing starlings , also known as Aplonis starlings , are a genus of birds from the starling family . Their distribution extends from Southeast Asia , over Indonesia , the Philippines , Australis to French Polynesia . The size ranges from 18 centimeters for the Sundastar ( Aplonis minor ) to 26 centimeters for the Samoan Star ( Aplonis atrifusca ). The plumage of the adult birds is quite uniformly colored, the coloration can vary from black, brown, dark green to dark gray. Occasionally the feathers have a metallic sheen. The eye ring is often noticeably colored. The juvenile birds of some species have dark-dashed light undersides.
Danger
Several species of singing star, including the rustling star and the Rarotonga star , are restricted to islands in Oceania . Their numbers have declined sharply due to overhunting, loss of habitat and being stalked by rats. The Kosrae SingStar ( Aplonis corvina ), the Simple Star ( Aplonis mavornata ) and the Lord Howe Star ( Aplonis fusca hulliana ) have been eradicated in a short time by rats. The Norfolk Star ( Aplonis fusca ) died out in 1923, presumably from overhunting and habitat destruction. The Pelzelnstar ( Aplonis pelzelni ) was last sighted in 1995 and is probably also extinct. The Huahine star ( Aplonis diluvialis ) and a previously undescribed species from the Melanesian island of Erromango are only known from subfossil bone finds.
Systematics
There are currently 21 different types:
- Weaver star ( Aplonis metallica )
- Mimikastar ( Aplonis mystacea )
- Settling star ( Aplonis cantoroides )
- Tanimbar Star ( Aplonis crassa )
- Atoll Star ( Aplonis feadensis )
- Rennell Star ( Aplonis insularis )
- Geelvinkstar ( Aplonis magna )
- White-eyed star ( Aplonis brunneicapillus )
- Caroline Star ( Aplonis opaca )
- Thick-billed star ( Aplonis striata )
- Collar star ( Aplonis grandis )
- Malay star ( Aplonis panayensis )
- Moluccan star ( Aplonis mysolensis )
- Pelzelnstar ( Aplonis pelzelni ) (extremely rare or already extinct)
- Sundastar ( Aplonis minor )
- South Sea Star ( Aplonis tabuensis )
- Rostbürzelstar ( Aplonis santovestris )
- San Cristobal Star ( Aplonis dichroa )
- Samoan Star ( Aplonis atrifusca )
- Rarotonga star ( Aplonis cinerascens )
- Rustwing Star ( Aplonis zelandica )
The following are considered to be extinct:
- Kosrae singing star ( Aplonis corvina ) (first half of the 19th century)
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Norfolk Star ( Aplonis fusca ) (ca.1923)
- Lord Howe Star ( Aplonis fusca hulliana ) ( ca.1919 )
- Plain star ( Aplonis mavornata ) (first half of the 19th century)
- Huahine star ( Aplonis diluvialis ), known only from a subfossil bone.
- Aplonis sp. (undescribed species from the island of Erromango , known only from subfossil bones)
- Raiateastar ( Aplonis ulietensis ), enigmatic species of bird from the island of Raitea in the Society Islands, only known from a drawing by Georg Forster from 1774. Traditionally regarded as a representative of the thrushes ( Turdus ulietensis ). According to paleornithologists such as David William Steadman , the taxon probably belongs to the genus Aplonis , especially since there are no representatives of the thrush on the Society Islands today.
literature
- Chris Feare & Adrian Craig: Starlings and Mynas . Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-7136-3961-X .
- David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds . University of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN 0-226-77142-3
