White-headed starling
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The white-headed starling (Sturnia erythropygia), also known as the Andaman white-headed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in wooded habitats of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
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| White-headed starling | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Sturnidae |
| Genus: | Sturnia |
| Species: | S. erythropygia |
| Binomial name | |
| Sturnia erythropygia Blyth, 1846 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Sturnus erythropygius | |
Taxonomy
The white-headed starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic.[2] In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the white-headed starling was one of five starlings moved to the resurrected genus Sturnia that had been introduced in 1837 by René Lesson.[3]
Three subspecies are recognised:[3]
- S. e. andamanensis (Beavan, 1867) – Andaman Islands
- S. e. erythropygia Blyth, 1846 – north Nicobar Islands
- S. e. katchalensis Richmond, 1902 – central Nicobar Islands
