White-headed starling

Not to be confused with White-faced starling.

The white-headed starling (Sturnia erythropygia), also known as the Andaman white-headed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in wooded habitats of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

White-headed starling
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Sturnidae
Genus:	Sturnia
Species:	S. erythropygia
Binomial name
Sturnia erythropygia Blyth, 1846
Synonyms
Sturnus erythropygius

Taxonomy

The white-headed starling was formerly placed in the genus Sturnus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic.^[2] In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the white-headed starling was one of five starlings moved to the resurrected genus Sturnia that had been introduced in 1837 by René Lesson.^[3]

Three subspecies are recognised:^[3]

• S. e. andamanensis (Beavan, 1867) – Andaman Islands
• S. e. erythropygia Blyth, 1846 – north Nicobar Islands
• S. e. katchalensis Richmond, 1902 – central Nicobar Islands