Brahminy Starling

The brahminy starling or brahminy myna is a pale buff-cream starling with a black cap and a loose crest, a yellow bill with a bluish base, a pale eye and a bluish patch of bare skin around it. The outer tail feathers are white-tipped, and the black primaries have no white patches. The adult male has a more prominent crest and longer neck hackles than the female, and juveniles are duller with a browner cap. Its song is a long series of slurred musical notes that end abruptly (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is usually seen in pairs or small flocks in open habitats on the plains, in dry forest, scrub jungle and cultivation, often close to houses and especially where the ground is waterlogged or marshy. Like most starlings it is omnivorous, eating fruit and insects, and it even eats the fruits of yellow oleander, which are toxic to many animals. Its species name means of the temples or pagodas. In India it is resident across a very large range; SoIB 2023 finds its trends uncertain and rates it a Low conservation priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).