White-cheeked star

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White-cheeked star
White-cheeked star (Spodiopsar cineraceus)

White-cheeked star ( Spodiopsar cineraceus )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Starlings (Sturnidae)
Subfamily : Sturninae
Genre : Spodiopsar
Type : White-cheeked star
Scientific name of the  genus
Spodiopsar
Sharpe , 1889
Scientific name of the  species
Spodiopsar cineraceus
( Temminck , 1835)

The barnacle Star ( Spodiopsar cineraceus ), also gray - or Ash Star , is a songbird from the family of starlings . Its distribution area extends to Japan , Korea , Taiwan and China as well as the southern part of the Russian Far East . The species is monotypical .

features

White-cheeked starlings

White-cheeked starlings have a characteristic appearance and flight pattern for starlings . The birds reach lengths of up to 24 centimeters and a weight of 23 grams. The tail length is between 62.5 (♀) and 66 (♂) centimeters, the wingspan in the smaller female 125 millimeters and in the male up to 129 millimeters. The dark gray to brown plumage is complemented by a blackish hood, wing and tail tips, while the forehead, chin and cheeks are colored whitish and interspersed with dark stripes. The plumage on the underside is medium brown with a white rump . The coloring of the females appears duller overall. The beak is colored orange with a black tip. The legs are also pale orange.

Young birds have an overall duller coloration. In addition, the black color of the beak tip is missing. The call is monotonous and creaky.

Distribution and habitat

The species breeds in East Asia from Mongolia and Dauria in the west to northern China, the Russian regions of Primorye and Khabarovsk , the Korean Peninsula and all of Japan. In the northern part of the distribution area the white-cheeked starling is a migratory bird , in the southern areas it is a resident bird. In large parts of Japan, the birds overwinter in the breeding areas, and on the northern island of Hokkaidō there has been an increase in overwintering in recent years. The wintering areas are in southern China, Taiwan and the Philippines.

White-cheeked starlings prefer the edges of deciduous forests and small groves near open spaces for foraging. The species is often found near human habitation, on agricultural land and orchards, and in urban areas with parks and green spaces. Within their range, the white-cheeked starlings are a common species that behaves very socially outside of the breeding season and in winter and gathers in large flocks.

behavior

Breeding behavior

Fledglings

The breeding season extends from March to July and can include two broods. The monogamous breeding pairs can already be found in the large swarms in winter. In March there are regular disputes about the best breeding sites. The nests are created in tree hollows, roller shutter boxes of houses, brick spaces or stone walls. The brood consists of four to seven pale green-bluish eggs, the size, color and shape of which are subject to variations depending on the individual. The incubation period is usually twelve days, with both the male and the female incubating the eggs. Both parents feed the young, which fledge after about 23 days. They then spend about a month with their parents in a flock of families before they join a flock of young birds.

The species is affected by brood parasitism from the cuckoo and the gackle cuckoo . In addition, intraspecific brood parasitism can be observed in white-cheeked starlings, which can affect up to twenty percent of the clutch.

food

White-cheeked starlings are omnivorous. Their diet consists of worms and insects, and in early summer the birds supplement them with cherries. In autumn, the seeds and fruits of horn shrubs , the Japanese pagoda tree ( Sophora japonica ) and the Japanese privet ( Ligustrum japonicum ) are added. White-cheeked starlings also disdain fruit, such as peaches, apples, grapes and persimmons . However, citrus fruits don't seem to be part of their diet. In autumn and winter, the birds look for agricultural areas in large flocks, where they look for insects in the ground with their beaks.

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Sturnus cineraceus , Temminck, 1835.

Hybridization

In 2009, interspecific hybridization between a female white-cheeked cataract and a male individual of the closely related silk star was observed on Shikoku .

Web links

Commons : White-cheeked Star ( Spodiopsar cineraceus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BirdLife International 2016. Spodiopsar cineraceus . In: BirdLife International 2016. Spodiopsar cineraceus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 : e.T22710896A94265691. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710896A94265691.en . Downloaded 19 May 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro: White-cheeked Starling. In: Bird Research News Vol.8 No.2, 02/21/2011
  3. ↑ a b c Brazil, Mark: Birds of East Asia , London 2009, p. 396
  4. ↑ Shigeho Sato, Hiroshi Kimura, Sachi Hirata, Yoshiaki Okai: "A record of interspecific hybridization of the Gray Starling Sturnus cineraceus and the Red-billed Starling Sturnus sericeus in Sukumo, Kochi Prefecture" In: Japanese Journal of Ornithology , Vol.59 No. .1 (2010) https://doi.org/10.3838/jjo.59.76