White-cheeked Starling

The white-cheeked, or grey, starling is a starling native to eastern Asia, where it is a common and well-known bird in much of its range, 24 cm long. The adult male is mainly dark grey-brown with a paler belly and a whitish band across the rump, a blackish head with whitish cheeks and forehead, a white border to the tail and white markings on the secondaries; the legs are pale orange and the bill orange with a black tip. The loud, monotonous call is a series of harsh, creaking notes (Wikipedia, general species account).

The breeding range covers central and north-east China, Korea, Japan and south-east Siberia, and in winter birds from colder regions migrate south to southern and eastern China, South Korea, southern Japan, Taiwan and northern Vietnam, with vagrants reaching the Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar. The breeding season lasts from March to July, often with two clutches of four to nine eggs. The cached account does not describe any occurrence in India. SoIB 2023 lists it as a resident of non-specialised habitat, without a priority category, so its Indian status should be checked (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).