Spodiopsar cineraceus
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The white-cheeked starling or grey starling (Spodiopsar cineraceus) is a passerine bird of the starling family. It is native to eastern Asia where it is a common and well-known bird in much of its range. The white-cheeked 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 white-cheeked starling and the red-billed starling were moved to the resurrected genus Spodiopsar that had been introduced in 1889 by Richard Bowdler Sharpe. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
White-cheeked starlings are 24 cm in length. The adult male is mainly dark grey-brown with a paler belly and a whitish band across the rump. The head is blackish with whitish cheeks and forehead. There is a white border to the tail and white markings on the secondary wing feathers. The legs are pale orange and the bill is orange with a black tip. Adult females are similar to the males but paler and duller.
The juvenile is brown with pale cheeks and rump and no black tip to the bill. The loud, monotonous call is a series of harsh, creaking... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 2 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 3 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-cheeked Starling sighting in Namdapha National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 288th most-seen of the 298 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-cheeked Starling in Namdapha National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season. June to September have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-cheeked Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate White-cheeked Starling sightings, Namdapha National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Nikko National Park (Japan, about 10%) and Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Mongolia, under 5%).
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the White-cheeked Starling that you can see in Namdapha National Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Common Hill Myna (about 30%), Jungle Myna (about 10%) and Golden-crested Myna (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-cheeked Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Namdapha National Park (5 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.
