Sturnus Vulgaris Linnaeus. European Starling
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FAMILY STURNIDAE 523 Distribution.--Resident in the LesserAntilles from Saba, St. Eustatius(where possibly extirpated),and St. Kitts southto Dominica, and on St. Vincent. Notes.--AlthoughC. ruficaudaand C. gutturalisusually have been considered conspecific [Cinclocerthiaruficauda, Trembler], we treat thesedistinctive forms as allospecies(Storer 1989). Cinclocerthiagutturalis (Lafresnaye).Gray Trembler. Rarnphocinclusgutturalis Lafresnaye, 1843, Rev. Zool. [Paris]6: 67. (desAntilles = Martinique.) Habitat.--Tropical Lowland EvergreenForest, Tropical Deciduous Forest, Secondary Forest (0-900 m). Distribution.--Resident in the LesserAntilles on Martinique and St. Lucia. Notes.--See commentsunder C. ruficauda. Family STURNIDAE: Starlings Notes.--See comments under Mimidae. Genus STURNUS Linnaeus SturnusLinnaeus, 1758, Syst.Nat. (ed. 10): 167. Type, by tautonymy,Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus(Sturnus, prebinomial specific name, in synonymy). Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus.European Starling. Sturnusvulgaris Linnaeus,1758, Syst. Nat. (ed. 10) 1: 167. (in Europa, Africa = Sweden.) Habitat.--Generally in human-disturbedhabitats, including cultivated lands, pastures, suburbs,and cities; usually avoids natural, undisturbed areas such as forest,grasslands, and desert. Distribution.--Breeds from Iceland, the Faeroe and Shetland islands, northern Scandi- navia, northernRussia, and central Siberia southto the Azores, southernEurope, Asia Minor, Iran, the Himalayas,northern Mongolia, and Lake Baikal. Wintersfrom the breedingrange south to northernAfrica, India, andnortheastern China (casually to Thailand). Casualin Labrador (about 1878) and Greenland(regularly). Introducedin the United States(New York City, 1890); now breedsfrom east-centraland southeasternAlaska, southernYukon, northernBritish Columbia(including the QueenChar- lotte Islands),southern Mackenzie, southernKeewatin, northern Manitoba, northern Ontario, northernQuebec, southern Labrador, and Newfoundlandsouth to central Baja California, northern Sinaloa, southernNew Mexico, southernTexas, the Gulf coast, southernFlorida (to Key West), and Bermuda,with an isolatedpopulation in Mexico City and a breeding record from Veracruz.Winters throughoutthe breedingrange and southto Veracruz,the BahamaIslands (south to Grand Turk), and easternCuba. Also introducedand established on Jamaicaand Puerto Rico, and in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Polynesia. Reportedcasually in the HawaiianIslands (Oahu), on Bermuda,in the Virgin Islands(St. Croix), the CaymanIslands (Cayman Brac), and in the summernorth to westernand northern Alaska, northernMackenzie, and SouthamptonIsland; an individual recordedin Panama (Canal area) was questionablya natural vagrant. Notes.--Also knownas the Starlingor CommonStarling. Sturnus vulgaris and S. unicolor Temminck,1820 [SpotlessStarling], of the westernMediterranean region, constitutea su- perspecies(Sibley and Monroe 1990). Genus ACRIDOTHERES Vieillot AcridotheresVieillot, 1816, Analyse,p. 42. Type, by subsequentdesignation (G. R. Gray, 1840), Paradisaea tristis Linnaeus. 524 FAMILY PRUNELLIDAE Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus). Common Myna. Paradisceatristis Linnaeus,1766, Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1: 167. Basedon "Le Merle des Philippines"Brisson, Ornithologie 2: 278, pl. 26, fig. 1. (in Philippinis,error = Pondich6ry.) Habitat.--Open country,forest edge, agricultural areas, and suburbs;in Asia, opencoun- try, primarilyin the vicinity of humanhabitation. Distribution.---Residentfrom easternIran, Turkestan,and the Himalayassouth to India, Sri Lanka, southeasternAsia, and the Andaman Islands. Introducedand establishedin the Hawaiian Islands (in 1865, now abundanton all main islandsfrom Kauai eastward,and recentlyon Midway), SouthAfrica, Malaya, Australia, New Zealand, and on many islands in the South Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans;a populationin southernFlorida known since 1983 is increasingand expanding(Stevenson and Anderson 1994). Notes.--Also known as Indian Myna or House Myna. Acridotherescristatellus (Linnaeus). Crested Myna. Gracula cristatella Linnaeus,1758, Syst.Nat. (ed. 10) 1: 109. Basedon "The Chinese Starlingor Blackbird" Edwards,Nat. Hist. Birds 1: 19, pl. 19. (in China.) Habitat.--Open country,cultivated lands, and aroundhuman habitation. Distribution.--Resident in central and eastern China, Taiwan, and northern Indochina. Introducedand establishedin southwesternBritish Columbia(Vancouver region), Japan, andthe Philippines(Luzon). Reports in northwesternOregon (Portland) and Florida (Dade County) are basedon escapedcage birds. Also reportedin PuertoRico, statusuncertain. Genus GRACULA Linnaeus Gracula Linnaeus,1758, Syst.Nat. (ed. 10) 1' 108. Type, by subsequentdesignation (G. R. Gray, 1840), Gracula religiosaLinnaeus. Gracula religiosa Linnaeus.Hill Myna. Gracula religiosaLinnaeus, 1758, Syst.Nat. (ed. 10) 1: 108. (in Asia = Java.). Habitat.--Primarily open woodland;in Old World, forest, secondgrowth, and scrub. Distribution.---Resident[religiosa group] from India (exceptsouthern peninsular), south- easternAsia, extreme southernChina, and Hainan southto the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and the East Indies (eastto Palawanand Alor); and [indica group]in southernpeninsular India and Sri Lanka. Introducedand established[religiosa group] in PuertoRico (casualvagrant to Mona and Vieques islands),and in the Indian Ocean on ChristmasIsland; escapesin the Hawaiian Islands(Oahu, 1960 and 1961) andsouthern Florida have persisted for yearswithout evidence of establishment. Notes.--Also known as TalkingMyna or Indian Hill Myna and,in Old World literature, as the Grackle. Groups:G. religiosa [EasternHill-Myna] and G. indica (Cuvier, 1829) [SouthernHill-Myna]. Family PRUNELLIDAE: Accentors Notes.--Sibley and Ahlquist (1981a, 1990) providedevidence from DNA-DNA hybrid- ization indicatingthat this family is mostclosely related to the Ploceidaeand, alongwith the Motacillidae,belongs to a groupof familiesthat includesthe nine-primmedoscines. Genus PRUNELLA Vieillot Prunella Vieillot, 1816, Analyse,p. 43. Type, by monotypy,"Fauvette de haie" Buffon = Motacilla modularis Linnaeus. FAMILY MOTACILLIDAE 525 Prunella montanella (Pallas). Siberian Accentor. Motacilla rnontanella Pallas, 1776, Reise Versch. Prov. Russ. Reichs 3: 695. (in Dau- uriam = Dauria.) Habitat.--Breeds in open coniferousor mixed woodland (spruce,birch) and riverine scrub;in winter, open woodlandwith scruband secondgrowth. Distribution.--Breeds in the mountains of Siberia. Wintersfrom southernManchuria and Japan south to centralChina, in migrationoccurring throughMongolia. Casual in Alaska (Point Barrow, St. Lawrence and Nunivak islands, and Shemya in the Aleutians);sight reports from Fairbanks,Kenai Peninsula,and Juneau. Accidental in British Columbia, Washington,and Idaho. Notes.--Also known as Mountain Accentor. Family MOTACILLIDAE: Wagtailsand Pipits Notes.--For relationshipsof the family, seeSibley and Ahlquist(198 lb, 1990) and com- ments under Prunellidae. Genus MOTACILLA Linnaeus Motacilla Linnaeus,1758, Syst. Nat. (ed. 10) 1: 184. Type, by tautonymy,Motacilla alba Linnaeus(Motacilla, prebinomialspecific name, listed in synonymy). Motacilla fiava Linnaeus.Yellow Wagtail. Motacillafiava Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat. (ed. 10) 1: 185. (in Europa = Sweden.) Habitat.--Breeds in tundra with thickets of dwarf willow or birch; in Eurasia, also wet meadows,moorlands, edges of wetlands,and coastalscrub; in winter,cultivated fields, moist grassyfields, and mudflats,often roostingin reedbedsand cane-fields.Often associatedwith livestock. Distribution.--Breeds in North America in northern and western Alaska (south to St. Lawrenceand Nunivak islands,and on the mainlandto the NushagakRiver), northernYukon, and extreme northwesternMackenzie; and in the Palearctic from the British Isles, southern Scandinavia, northern Russia, and northern Siberia south to northwestern Africa, the Med- iterraneanregion, Asia Minor, Iran, Turkestan,northern Mongolia, centralManchuria, Kam- chatka, and the Kuril and Commander islands. Winters in the Old World from northern Africa, India, Southeast Asia, eastern China, and the Philippinessouth to southernAfrica, the East Indies, and (rarely) northernAustralia. Migrates regularly throughcoastal western Alaska and the westernAleutians, and in the Old World throughoutEurope, the Mediterraneanregion, and Asia (exceptunsuitable regions in centralAsia and the Himalayas),including Japan and Korea. Casual in the western Aleutians, Pribilof Islands, central and south-coastal Alaska, central Yukon, British Columbia,western Washington, California, Iceland,the FaeroeIslands, north- em Scandinavia,the easternAtlantic islands,and New Guinea;a sightreport from Alabama. Notes.--Variation in this speciesis complex, and relationshipsbetween morphologically distinguishablegroups are uncertain(Sammalisto 1961, Vaurie 1957b, 1959). If more than one speciesis recognized,North American populationsand recordswould pertain to the easternEurasian M. tschutschensisGmelin, 1789 [Alaska Yellow-Wagtail]. Motacilla citreola Pallas. Citrine Wagtail. Motacilla citreola Pallas, 1776, Reise versch. Prob. Russ. Reischs., 3: 696. (in Siberia orientaliore = East Siberia.) Habitat.--Wet meadows,marshes, scrubby tundra, and along banksof slow streamsand lakes, almost always near water; in winter, marshes,edges of wetlands,irrigated ricefields, and reedbeds. 526 FAMILY MOTACILLIDAE Distribution.--Breeds in central Eurasiafrom Russia to Siberia, Mongolia, and China, southto northernAfghanistan and throughthe Himalayasto