Wildlifeof India
Malabar Starling
Starlings & Mynas
Photo: Afsarnayakkan · CC BY-SA 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Sturnia blythii
Also known as: Sturnia malabarica blythii
AviList (2026) treats this bird as a subspecies, Sturnia malabarica blythii, of the Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica), which is also on this site. IOC lists it as a separate species.
Basic stats
Diet
Insects, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, small vertebrates and nectar (nestling diet)
Habitat
Forest and plantation; nests in tree holes
Range
South-western India; Western Ghats endemic in SoIB
The Malabar starling is a starling found in south-western India, previously considered a subspecies of the chestnut-tailed starling. It nests in tree holes, and the account's stated height of 3–15 mm above the ground is evidently a unit error, so no nest height is recorded here; nestlings eat insects, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, small vertebrates and nectar (Wikipedia, general species account).
The cached account is short and gives no description or measurements. SoIB 2023 treats it as a Western Ghats endemic and rates it a Low conservation priority, a resident of forest and plantation with a Moderate range of about 124,000 km² and an increasing current trend of about 7.5% a year (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).
Quick answers
- What does the Malabar Starling eat?
- Insects, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, small vertebrates and nectar (nestling diet)
- What habitat does the Malabar Starling live in?
- Forest and plantation; nests in tree holes
- Where is the Malabar Starling found?
- South-western India; Western Ghats endemic in SoIB