Ordinary starlings came to Kunashir

The press service of the Kurilsky Nature Reserve reported that an ordinary starling, atypical for the Far East, was spotted in a specially protected natural area. The last time these birds were recorded in Kunashir was in 2016.

Several individuals of the common starling were spotted in a flock with gray starlings near Petrovka Creek. It is the gray starlings that are most often found in the spring on Kunashir. In summer, you can also notice the red-cheeked or Japanese starling, listed in the Red Book of the Sakhalin region.

"An ordinary starling for the Far East is an "extraordinary" bird. The appearance of an ordinary starling from afar may seem deceptively unremarkable. However, upon closer examination, it is clear that the birds are not just "black", their plumage is predominantly dark brown with a metallic sheen and has strong purple, green tints, as well as numerous white and ochre mottling," the message says.

In total, 8 species of starlings can be found on the territory of Russia. The pink starling lives in the steppes of the lower Volga and Southern Siberia, and the small or Daurian starling lives in Primorye. There are also isolated flights of silky or red–billed starling to the Far East, silky myna to the extreme south of the Far East, and Chinese starling in Primorye. The common myna regularly flies to the south of Russia.