Sturnia sinensis
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-shouldered starling (Sturnia sinensis) is a species of bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It breeds in southern China and northern Vietnam; it winters in Southeast Asia. The white-shouldered starling was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the orioles in the genus Oriolus and coined the binomial name Oriolus sinensis. The specific epithet sinensis is Modern Latin for "Chinese". Gmelin based his description on "Le Kink" from China that had been described in 1775 by the French polymath the Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. A hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet was published to accompany Buffon's text.
The white-shouldered starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found the genus was polyphyletic. In the reorganization to create monotypic genera, the white-shouldered 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... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiuying District | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Xiamen City | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Quanzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 5 | Tuen Mun | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 6 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 8 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | |
| 9 | Wenzhou | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Ostrava Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 5 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 7 | Green World Ecological Farm | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 9 | Selwo Marina | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 11 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-shouldered Starling sighting in Kaohsiung on a given day, based on 178 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-shouldered Starling in Kaohsiung on a given day, against under 5% in November to August, the lowest months. That is one of Kaohsiung's wettest months, with about 240 mm of rain against 25 mm in February.
10th of 18
Of the 18 cities where we can rate White-shouldered Starling sightings, Kaohsiung ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Xiuying District (China, about 30%), Xiamen City (China, about 10%) and Quanzhou (China, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-shouldered Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Kaohsiung (178 verified sightings), 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.
