Rosy Starling Sturnus Roseus Stock Photography

The Rosy Starling Pastor roseus is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae, also known as the Rose-coloured Starling or Rose-coloured Pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, Pastor, and split from Sturnus. This split is supported by recent studies, though its closest living relatives are still not certainly known. The adult of this species is highly distinctive, with its pink body, pale orange legs and bill, and glossy black head, wings and tail. Males in the breeding season have elongated head feathers which form a wispy crest that is fluffed and more prominent when the bird gets excited; the crest is shorter in winter and the black areas have paler feather edges, which get worn away as well as the black becoming more glossy in the breeding season.