Tristram's starling (''Onychognathus tristramii'') or Tristram's grackle, is a species of

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

native to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Its territory is in the areas of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, northeastern

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

(

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a ...

), western

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

, and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, nesting mainly on rocky cliff faces.Snow, D. W. & Perrins, C. M. (1998). ''The Birds of the Western Palearctic'' Concise Edition. OUP . The species is named after Reverend Henry Baker Tristram, who also collected natural history specimens.

Description

A member of the genus ''

Onychognathus ''Onychognathus'' is a genus of starlings, most of which are found in Africa. All the species are quite similar, and characterised by rufous primary wing feathers, very obvious in flight. The males are typically mainly glossy black, and the femal ...

'', it is 25 cm long (including a 9 cm tail), with a wingspan of 44–45 cm, and a weight of 100–140 g. The males have glossy iridescent black plumage with orange patches on the outer wing, which are particularly noticeable in flight. The bill and legs are black. Females and young birds are similar but duller and with a greyish head, lacking the plumage gloss.Mullarney, K., Svensson, L., Zetterström, D., & Grant, P. J. (1999). ''Collins Bird Guide''. Harper Collins, London. .

Behavior

It is gregarious and noisy, with a call that resembles a

wolf whistle A wolf whistle is a distinctive two-note glissando whistled sound made to show high interest in or approval of something or someone, especially at someone viewed as physically or sexually attractive. Today, a wolf whistle directed at a person ...

. They are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, feeding on fruit and invertebrates, and can also be observed grooming Nubian ibex and domestic

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

for

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson h ...

s. They are becoming increasingly commensal with man, feeding in towns and villages; this has enabled a recent northward spread in their distribution.

Gallery

File:Onychognathus tristramii -Israel -female-8.jpg, Female in Israel File:Pigeons on a stone at Masada - Zoom.JPG, Tristram observation Masada in Israel File:Capra nubiana, Israel 9.jpg, Tristram on a Nubian ibex in

Sde Boker Sde Boker ( he, שְׂדֵה בּוֹקֵר, lit. ''Herding Field'') is a kibbutz in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Best known as the retirement home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ram ...

, Israel File:Tristramstar an Gertränkekarton.jpg, Oman File:A Tristram's starling, near Masada.jpg, A Tristram's starling, near Masada

References

Tristram's starling Birds of the Middle East Tristram's starling Tristram's starling {{Sturnidae-stub