# Rosy Starling

*Pastor roseus*

They are nicknamed 'locust birds' because a single colony can consume hundreds of tons of insects during the breeding season.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Sturnidae › Pastor
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Open steppes, semi-deserts, and grasslands; often found near water or agricultural areas during locust outbreaks.
- **Diet:** Mainly insects, particularly grasshoppers and locusts; also consumes grapes, mulberries, and nectar.
- **Range:** Eastern Europe, Central Asia, India, Middle East
- **Size:** 19-22 cm in length, weighing 60-90 grams.
- **Lifespan:** 5-8 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Overuse of pesticides targeting their primary prey (locusts) and loss of nesting sites in some regions.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and highly social. Observe their acrobatic murmurations from a distance. If you find an injured bird, contact an avian rehabilitator. They pose no threat to humans.

## About

The rosy starling ( Pastor roseus ) is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor . The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, Pastor , and split from Sturnus . This split is supported by recent studies, though other related species within its new genus are not yet known for certain.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/4c19c70b-78b7-4c83-baa2-2b8bbe830724
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/145108
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastor roseus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/137124372/medium.jpeg (Andrew Bazdyrev, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.