Rosy Starling

The rosy or rose-coloured starling is about the size of a common starling, 19–22cm long and 60–88g. Its breeding plumage is highly distinctive: a pink body with a glossy black head, wings and tail, pink to pale orange legs and a bill with a black base and bright pink tip. Breeding males have a wispy crest that they fluff up when excited. In winter the crest is shorter, the body a duller greyish-pink and the bill grey. Juveniles are pale buffy brown with a short yellow bill, paler than young common starlings (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds on the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of Central Asia and south-eastern Europe. It was restored to its own genus, Pastor, in 2008, and its closest relative is thought to be the wattled starling of Africa. It has no subspecies (Wikipedia, general species account).