The Daurian starling (''Agropsar sturninus''), or purple-backed starling, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine (perching) birds known for the often dark, glossy iridescent sheen of their plumage; their complex vocalizations including mimicking; and their distinctive, often elaborate swarming behavior, know ...

family found in the eastern

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

from eastern Mongolia and southeastern Russia to North Korea and central China.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Daurian starling was previously placed in the genus ''

Sturnus ''Sturnus'' is a genus of starlings. As discussed below, the Taxonomy (biology), 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 ''Stur ...

''. It was moved to the resurrected genus ''

Agropsar ''Agropsar'' is a genus of Asian birds in the family Sturnidae. It is sometimes merged with ''Sturnus'' or ''Sturnia'' These two species were formerly placed in the genus ''Sturnus''. They were moved to the resurrected genus ''Agropsar'' based o ...

'' based on the results of two

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies that were published in 2008.

Description

The Daurian starling is distinguished from other starling species by its dark mantle and crown and narrow wing bars.Strange, M. (2002) A photographic guide to birds of southeast Asia: Periplus Editions

Distribution and habitat

The natural habitats of the Daurian starling are boreal forests and temperate forests.

References

*BirdLife International 2004
Sturnus sturninus2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 24 July 2007.

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 sy ...

Birds of China Birds of Korea Birds of Manchuria

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Sturnidae-stub