Reunion Starling

The Bourbon Crested Starling was discovered in 1669 and first described 1783 by Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert. It got its name from its conspicuous ash grey crest. It reached a size of 30 cm. in length. The wings, which were coloured grey-brown, had wingspan of 4.7 cm. The tail was 11.4 cm long and had a rufous hue. It had long yellow legs with tarsi of about 3.9 cm. The nails were curved. The head, neck, and abdomen were white. There was sexual dimorphism between male and female. The male had a 4 cm long light-yellow coloured bill which was slightly downcurved. The bill of the female was smaller and straight. The crest of the male was directed forwards, the crest of the female backwards. Because of its crest and the form of its bill it was long regarded as relative of the hoopoes by scientists, and its French name Huppe was derived from that. Boddaert named it Hupupa varia when he first described it but naturalist René-Primevère Lesson put it in its own genus Fregilupus in 1831. However, after careful ana

The Reunion Starling is classified as Extinct (EX), there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.

The reunion starling is an extinct bird native to the Mascarenes. It became extinct c. 1860. More

Rodriguez starling and Reunion starling, island endemics in the Mascarene Islands, may have disappeared in the eighteenth century. The Kosrae Mountain starling (Aplonis corvine), of Kosrae (Kusai) Island in the Caroline Islands, was first and last seen in 1828. The Norfolk Island starling (Aplonis fusca fusca) is believed to have disappeared in 1925, and its sister race, the Lord Howe Island starling (A. f. hulliana), was last seen in 1919. More

Information on the Reunion starling is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly... More 1 Image 0 videos * Thumbnail for Buceros rhinoceros (Rhinoceros hornbill) Rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) - Information on the rhinoceros hornbill is currently being researched and written and will appear here shortly... More