Sturnia blythii
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Malabar Starling sighting in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, based on 593 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 51st most-seen of the 272 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Malabar Starling in Nagarhole National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March and December, the lowest months. That is one of Nagarhole National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 270 mm in July.
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.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Malabar Starling sightings, Nagarhole National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Periyar National Park (India, about 30%).
Same genus: Sturnia
The closest relatives of the Malabar Starling that you can see in Nagarhole National Park (genus Sturnia, Sturnia Starlings) are Brahminy Starling (about 30%) and Chestnut-tailed Starling (about 20%), 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 Nagarhole National Park (593 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.
