Spotless Starling

The Spotless Starling is a glossy black songbird restricted mainly to the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, and parts of northwest Africa, closely related to and often confused with the more widespread Common Starling. As its name suggests, breeding adults lack the pale spotting typical of the Common Starling, appearing almost entirely glossy black.

Flight feathers: glossy black with a greenish-purple sheen, broader than in the Common Starling. Tail feathers: short and squared, glossy black. Body feathers: in breeding plumage, adults show essentially unspotted, glossy black feathers with iridescent green and purple highlights, and elongated, loose throat feathers (hackles) that are longer than those of the Common Starling. In fresh non-breeding plumage, feathers show pale spotting similar to the Common Starling but are typically less densely and less crisply spotted. Compared to the Common Starling, Spotless Starling feathers overall look glossier and blacker with reduced pale markings and longer throat hackles.

Sexes are similar, though males may show slightly longer throat hackles. Breeding adults are essentially unspotted glossy black with iridescent green-purple sheen; after the post-breeding molt, fresh feathers show pale tips creating a spotted appearance that wears away by the following breeding season, reducing spotting compared to Common Starling. Juveniles are dull grayish-brown, molting into a first-winter plumage that is spotted like the adult non-breeding plumage before eventually acquiring the glossy, less-spotted adult look.

Spotless Starlings inhabit open country, farmland, orchards, and towns primarily across the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, and parts of northwest Africa, overlapping only marginally with the more widespread Common Starling. Most populations are largely resident, with limited seasonal movement.

This starling forages on the ground in flocks, taking insects, other invertebrates, and fruit, and often associates loosely with livestock. It nests in cavities, including tree holes, cliff crevices, and building crevices, sometimes in loose colonies. Its calls and song are similar to the Common Starling's, featuring a mix of whistles, clicks, and mimicked sounds, often delivered from a prominent perch with fluffed throat feathers.