Sturnus unicolor
The Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor) is a striking medium-sized passerine, measuring approximately 21-23 cm in length with a wingspan of 38-42 cm and weighing between 70-100 grams. Its most distinguishing feature, and the origin of its name, is its uniformly glossy black plumage, which lacks the prominent white spots characteristic of its close relative, the Common Starling, especially during the breeding season. This iridescent plumage shimmers with purplish and greenish hues under diffe...
Primarily found in Mediterranean scrubland, agricultural areas, olive groves, urban parks, and open woodlands, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Omnivorous, feeding predominantly on a wide range of invertebrates such as insects (grubs, beetles), larvae, and earthworms, supplemented by various fruits, berries, seeds, and occasionally human food scraps.
Spotless Starlings are highly social and diurnal birds, often observed foraging in noisy flocks on the ground, probing the soil with their long, pointed bills for invertebrates. Outside the breeding season, they gather in massive communal roosts, sometimes numbering thousands of individuals, in t...
The Spotless Starling is primarily a resident species, with its core range encompassing the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, and extending across North-West Africa through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. While largely sedentary throughout this distri...
Least Concern
- The Spotless Starling is a master mimic, capable of incorporating the calls of dozens of other bird species, and even human-made sounds, into its complex song. - Unlike its widespread cousin, the Common Starling, the Spotless Starling truly lives up to its name by lacking the prominent white sp...