''Sturnia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s in the family Sturnidae. It is sometimes merged with ''

Sturnus ''Sturnus'' is a genus of starlings. As discussed below, the taxonomy of this group is complex, and other authorities differ considerably in which species they place in this genus, and in the species boundaries within ''Sturnus''. The genus name ...

''.Clements, J. (2007). ''The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World.'' 6th edition. Christopher Helm.

Species

The old genus' placement with the starlings was found to be polyphyletic, resulting in changes in the placement. A 2008 study places the following species within this genus:Zuccon, D., Pasquet, E. & Ericson, P. G. P. (2008). Phylogenetic relationships among Palearctic–Oriental starlings and mynas (genera Sturnus and Acridotheres : Sturnidae). Zoologica Scripta, 37:469–48
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Extant species

Former taxonomic treatments have included: *

White-faced starling The white-faced starling (''Sturnornis albofrontatus'') is a member of the starling family of birds. It is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka. It was for a long time erroneously known as ''S. senex''; this was eventually identified as a j ...

, ''Sturnia albofrontata''. *

Daurian starling The Daurian starling (''Agropsar sturninus''), or purple-backed starling, is a species of bird in the starling family found in the eastern Palearctic from eastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia to North Korea and central China. Taxonomy and s ...

, ''Sturnia sturnina''. *

Chestnut-cheeked starling The chestnut-cheeked starling (''Agropsar philippensis'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It breeds in Japan and the Russian islands of Sakhalin and Kuriles; it winters in Taiwan, the Philippines and northern Borneo. The che ...

, ''Sturnia philippensis''. If the first of these is included, it seems highly warranted to include in ''Sturnia'' also the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genera ''

Leucopsar The Bali myna (''Leucopsar rothschildi''), also known as Rothschild's mynah, Bali starling, or Bali mynah, locally known as jalak Bali, is a medium-sized (up to long), stocky myna, almost wholly white with a long, drooping crest, and black tip ...

'' (Bali myna) and '' Fregilupus'' (hoopoe starling), and perhaps the enigmatic '' Necropsar'' (Rodrigues starling). On the other hand, if these distinct genera are maintained, the white-faced starling would then receive its own genus, ''Sturnornis''. The other two would better be dealt with by resurrecting ''Agropsar'', either as a distinct genus or as a subgenus of ''Gracupica'', which otherwise includes the

black-collared starling The black-collared starling (''Gracupica nigricollis'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. Its plumage is black and white, with a black collar. It is found in southern China and most of mainland Southeast Asia, and has been introd ...

(''"Sturnus" nigricollis'') and pied mynas (''"Gracupica sp." ''); these four form a robust and ancient group of two

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

that is perhaps even closer to the

wattled starling The wattled starling (''Creatophora cinerea'') is a nomadic resident bird in eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of grassland, open woodland, and cultivation. This is the only African starling that appears to show affinities with the As ...

(''Creatophpora cinerea'') than to the actual genus ''Sturnus''. Their similarity to ''Sturnia'' proper is probably simply a

symplesiomorph In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral Phenotypic trait, character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades. Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorph ...

References

Sturnidae Bird genera Taxa named by René Lesson {{sturnidae-stub