The Himalayas, is a mountain range which separates the Great Indian Plains from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on the Earth, including the highest, Mount Everest. The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains from less than 500 meters to more than 8,000 meters in a few hundred kilometers has resulted in a huge diversity of flora and fauna. Nearly 1000 birds have been recorded in the Himalayas of which 15 species are fully endemic.
The grey-headed starling (Sturnia malabarica) is a member of the starting family of perching birds, it is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia. The species name is after the distribution of a former subspecies in the Malabar region. Like most starlings, the grey-headed starling is fairly omnivorous, eating fruit, nectar and insects. They tty in tight flocks and often rapidly change directions with great synchrony.
IUCN Status: Least Concern (LC) Photo: Shantanu Kuveskar