Sturnia blythii
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Malabar starling (Sturnia blythii) is a species of starling found in southwestern India. It was previously considered a subspecies of the chestnut-tailed starling. They nest in tree holes 3-15 mm above the ground. Nestlings eat insects, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, small vertebrates, and nectar.
The Malabar starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic. In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the Malabar starling was one of five starlings moved to the resurrected genus Sturnia that had been introduced in 1837 by René Lesson. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The Malabar starling was formerly considered to be conspecific with the chestnut-tailed starling (Sturnia malabarica). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kochi | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kollam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Mumbai | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Malabar Starling sighting in Bandipur National Park on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 111th most-seen of the 256 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Malabar Starling in Bandipur National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and November, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malabar Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Malabar Starling sightings, Bandipur National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 30%), Nagarhole National Park (India, about 20%) and Mudumalai National Park (India, about 10%).
Same genus: Sturnia
The closest relatives of the Malabar Starling that you can see in Bandipur National Park (genus Sturnia, Sturnia Starlings) are Brahminy Starling (about 40%) and Chestnut-tailed Starling (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malabar Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Bandipur National Park (86 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
