For many years this species was erroneously believed to have been first described in 1850 by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte under the binomial name Pastor senex. Although Bonaparte had specified the location as Bengal, this was believed to have been an error.[6] An examination in 1997 of the specimen used by Bonaparte revealed that his brief description applied to Sturnus sericeusGmelin, JF, 1789, the red-billed starling. The earliest description of the white-faced starling is therefore that by Layard in 1854.[7][8]
Description
The adults of these 22 cm-long birds have green-glossed dark grey upperparts and whitish underparts. The head is paler than the underparts. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller, with brown upperparts and greyer underparts.
This passerine is typically found in tall forest, usually high in the canopy. The white-faced starling builds its nest in a hole. The normal clutch is two eggs.
Like most starlings, the white-faced starling is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and insects.
Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN0-691-04910-6
.jpg)
