The Red-billed Starling (or Silky Starling) is a medium sized starling and a resident of Southeast China, although rare sightings have been recorded in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
As its name indicates, the Red-billed Starling has a red bill with dark tip, and a grey coloured body.
As its name indicates, the Red-billed Starling has a red bill with dark tip, and a grey coloured body.
While the male bird has a distinctive whitish head,
the head of the female is mainly brownish.
But both sexes have orange coloured legs.
Each year, the Red-billed Starlings travel from Southeast China to Hong Kong to spend the winter here. A couple of days ago, I saw several birds feeding in mutflats during a very low tide. Unlike most of the shorebirds, the Red-billed Starlings search for food through cracks in the dry mud.
Sometimes, they even put the entire head down to look for insects trapped in the shallow water.
