Aplonis metallica
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The metallic starling (Aplonis metallica), also known as the shining starling, is a bird in the starling family native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, Queensland and the Solomon Islands. The metallic starling was formally described and illustrated as Lamprotornis metallicus in 1824 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. He mistakenly specified the locality as Timor and Celebres but this has been corrected to the island of Ambon in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The metallic starling is now one of 24 starlings placed in the genus Aplonis that was introduced in 1836 by the English ornithologist John Gould.
Five subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Abilene Zoological Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | ZooTampa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 12 | El Paso Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 14 | The Abilene Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 16 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Metallic Starling sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 131 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 91st most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Metallic Starling in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and July, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Metallic Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Metallic Starling sightings, Raja Ampat ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Daintree National Park (Australia, about 50%).
Same genus: Aplonis
The closest relatives of the Metallic Starling that you can see in Raja Ampat (genus Aplonis, Pacific Starlings) are Singing Starling (about 20%) and Moluccan Starling (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Metallic Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (131 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.
