The metallic starling (''Aplonis metallica''), also known as the shining starling, is a

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 native to the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanesi ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Description

The adult has brilliant red eyes, a long forked tail and green-glossed black plumage. Immatures are pale below with dark streaks.

Behaviour

They are very social and flocks of them build messy suspended globular nests in tall rain forest trees where they breed, possibly only during the wet season (north-west monsoon, October–March) (observed at Kokopo, East New Britain Province, 2016). They are not fearful of humans and their activity on the ground below, being well separated from them by altitude, but a loud noise will see them fly out in a tight formation, circle, then return to their nests. Their movement is very fast. During the early part of the 20th century, a flock (or flocks) were seen to migrate during AugustBanfield, E.J.
Alike in Difference.
''Emu.'' Vol. 17, No. 4, 212-214. 1917. Accessed 2009-05-25. to Dunk Island in far north

, where they mate, preparing messy globular nests for their young which hang from tall trees.Plants and Animals in the Wet tropics.

Wet Tropics Management Authority
Accessed 2009-05-25. There they remain until April, whereupon they make their return journey to New Guinea. They are also seen in other areas of Queensland including Kuranda in the Atherton Tablelands, and Mossman Gorge.

Gallery

File:Aplonis metallica -Phoenix Zoo, Arizona, USA -two-8a.jpg, Phoenix Zoo, Arizona File:Shining starling cairns09.JPG, Juveniles, Cairns Esplanade, North Queensland File:Metallic Starling RWD2.jpg, Female with nest - Cairns, Queensland File:AplonisMetallicaMetallica.jpg File:Aplonis_metallica_feeding.jpg, Feeding on ''Ptychosperma elegans'' fruit in Cairns, Queensland File:Metallic starlings nesting.jpg, Metallic Starlings around high nests in the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland. File:Aplonis metallica -San Diego Zoo, California, USA -head-8a.jpg, Male at

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

, California, USA Metallic Starling RWD1.jpg, Cairns

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q605720

metallic starling The metallic starling (''Aplonis metallica''), also known as the shining starling, is a bird in the starling family native to the Moluccas, New Guinea, Queensland and the Solomon Islands. Description The adult has brilliant red eyes, a long for ...

Birds of the Maluku Islands Birds of New Guinea Birds of the Solomon Islands Birds of Queensland