Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

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Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

From central Asia to India—the annual migration of Rosy Starling

In India, this bird can be seen from the Northern Peninsular to even in the South, like Kerala. However, the most amazing photographs of its murmurations are from Gujarat.

They let out crackles with an undertone of a hiss, and they do that in flocks. It’s unmistakable sound—not a chirp, not a cry. When you hear them, you know what to look for—a blush pink and dull black bird, the size of a sleek Mynah. It’s the Rosy Starling.

No other bird looks or sounds like it. This starling looks like it was plunged upside down into a vat of printer’s ink. Its slicked back head and neck are entirely matte black. It’s back, breast and belly are a pale blush pink, set in contrast to its black wings and tail. Sometimes, if the sun falls on it at the perfect angle, these wings reveal themselves as iridescent purple. 

If you see this bird in India, you will remember it as the most blush pink creature you’ve ever seen in the skies. Every year, lakhs of these birds fly in from the Central Asian region to the Indian subcontinent just before winter. This is their non-breeding season, so they look relatively demure, like their 1815 Latin name, Pastor roseus. Indeed, the bird itself was called a Rosy Pastor, before its name was changed to........

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