Rose-Colored Starling (redirected from Rose-coloured Starling)

Rose-Colored Starling 

(Pastor roseus), a bird of the family Sturnidae of the order Passeriformes. The body length is about 23 cm. The males are pink above and below; their wings, head, and tail are blue-black. The females are paler in coloration, and the young are sandy-colored.

The rose-colored starling is distributed in steppe and semi-desert zones from Hungary and Yugoslavia to the Western Altai and Afghanistan. The bird winters in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka. Rose-colored starlings nest in colonies and often change their nesting site. The nests are constructed in rock crevices and on rocky debris. There are five or six light-blue eggs in a clutch. During its nesting period, the rose-colored starling is considered a beneficial bird because the female feeds itself and its young grasshoppers. After nesting, however, the birds cause some damage to orchards and vineyards.