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Spotless Starling
Sturnus unicolor
Silhouette: Gareth Monger · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilySturnidae (Starlings)
- GenusSturnus (European and Spotless Starlings)
- SpeciesSturnus unicolor (Spotless Starling)
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
447 Verified sightings at Sierra Nevada National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,295 In all 8 parks
December Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted
About the Spotless Starling
The spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is closely related to the common starling (S. vulgaris), but has a much more restricted range, confined to the Iberian Peninsula, Northwest Africa, southernmost France, and the islands of Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia. It is largely non-migratory.
Subsequent to the recent split of the genus Sturnus, this species and the common starling are the only species retained in the genus. Hybrids with the common starling are found occasionally where the breeding ranges overlap in southwestern France and northeastern Spain.
The adult spotless starling is very similar to the common starling, but marginally larger (21–23 cm length; 70–100 g weight), and has darker, oily-looking black plumage, slightly purple- or green-glossed in bright light, which is entirely spotless in spring and summer, and only with very small pale spots in winter plumage, formed by the pale tips of the feathers. It also differs in having conspicuously longer throat feathers (twice the length of those on common starlings), forming a shaggy "beard" which is particularly obvious when... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Spotless Starling in Sierra Nevada National Park
LIVEiNaturalistGlobal Distribution
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
Zoos & Centres Where Found
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Koki (Parque zoológico y botánico) | 🇪🇸 Spain |
Closest Relatives at Sierra Nevada National Park
Before you go
What are the chances of seeing a Spotless Starling in Sierra Nevada National Park?
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Spotless Starling sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 447 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 153 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
When is the best time to see a Spotless Starling in Sierra Nevada National Park?
December and January
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Spotless Starling in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against about 20% in July, the lowest month.
What time of day is best to see a Spotless Starling?
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotless Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Is Sierra Nevada National Park the best place to see a Spotless Starling?
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Spotless Starling sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Monfragüe National Park (Spain, about 60%), Doñana National Park (Spain, about 60%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Where does the Spotless Starling sighting chance come from?
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotless Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (447 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.
