Bali Starling
Leucopsar rothschildi
Bali - Indonesia
 

Measurements

Weight: 85g

Length: 25cm

Diet

Ominvorous in nature eating fruit and insects.

Identification

Also known as Rothschild’s Mynah, his medium-large starling is almost entirely white apart from black wing- and tail-tips and the striking, bare blue skin around the eye.

Behaviour

During the breeding season, pairs are generally aggressive towards one another. Outside the breeding season, back when these birds were still plentiful in the wild, families converged into larger feeding flocks.

 

Distribution & Habitat

Found on the island of Bali, Indonesia, it inhabits tropical grassland and tropical dry forest.

Reproduction

Three or four eggs are laid in a nest of twigs in a hollow. The eggs are turquoise in colour and hatch after about 14 days; the chicks fledge in about three weeks. The young are mature at 2-3 years and may live for up to 15 years

Conservation

Classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List 2006, and listed on Appendix I of CITES. Conservationists now in fact think that the species may be extinct in the wild, but this is yet to be formerly confirmed. Its decline towards extinction has been caused by the urbanization of the island and by illegal trapping for the caged-bird trade;