Starlings · Perching birds
Rosy Starling
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Pastor roseus
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How to recognize it
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Body length 19–22 cm
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Adults with a pink back and underside, black head, wings and tail
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Breeding-season male with elongated head feathers forming a wispy crest
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Often in large, noisy flocks
About the species
The Rosy Starling has a rose-pink body set against a glossy black head, wings and tail. In breeding males, long head feathers rise into a loose crest; females have a shorter crest and a softer boundary between the pink and black. Its pale bill and legs complete the contrast.
It travels and feeds in close, noisy flocks, and on the ground it runs with a bobbing gait as it searches. Its song mixes squeaks and rattles, often accompanied by trembling wings. Breeding colonies form for a short season when grasshoppers are abundant.
Across open steppes, semi-deserts and farmland in Central Asia and southeastern Europe, it hunts grasshoppers and other insects, often taking them from the ground. After breeding, its diet shifts toward berries, fruit and grain. It migrates south for winter, with large numbers reaching India and tropical Asia.
Where to find
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In the breeding range during the nesting season, watch flocks of Rosy Starlings fly to niches under building roofs and disappear inside.
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On steppe and semi-desert plains during the breeding season, watch a flock move over the ground searching for locusts and other insects.
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In India in winter, look near gardens and vineyards with fruit trees, where flocks feed on fruit and berries.
