Despite the fact that starlings are far from a new bird for the Russian open spaces, not everyone knows about such a characteristic feature for them as a yellow beak, which, however, is not endowed with every representative of the order, but only certain species.
Certain species of the starling family
The starling family has about 32 species, and only a few of them have a yellow beak to one degree or another.
Yellow-billed buffalo starling
The name of this bird speaks for itself: its rather strong beak is constantly in yellow color, and the upper part itself is diluted with a slightly red color. As a rule, such a bird has a length of up to 21 centimeters, and its weight ranges from 55-69 grams. The entire plumage is divided into colored areas: the head is somewhat dark, the top of the body is dark brown, the tail is light beige, the upper part of the breast is light brown, and the belly is presented in a mixture of yellow-gold and yellow-brown colors. On the territory of Russia, yellow-billed starlings cannot be found in any way, rather they are inhabitants of Africa and Sinegal.
Gray starling
The next species - a gray starling - has a color corresponding to its name in the abdominal and chest part, but on the head, in addition to black feathers, white feathers can also be found. They have a yellow-orange beak with a dark tip. Gray females are much lighter in color than males of this species.
Common starling
The most common species is the common starling, better known as the spak, which is quite small in size. Its length is 18-21 centimeters, but its weight is 75 grams. The common starling has a rather long beak with a downward curvature, but not too powerful. Regarding the beak, it is worth noting that the standard black beak turns yellow only during the breeding season.
Sacred myna
A bird of the starling order that lives in Sri Lanka, in the southwest and east of India, the Himalayas. Its appearance is quite bright: the color is completely black, and there are bright yellow flaps of skin on both sides of the head, legs and beak are also lemon-colored. The size of the mine is on average 30 cm. They feed on both fruits and insects.
Features of seasonal changes
Changing seasons can also affect the color of the beak in starlings. For example, in the springtime the powerful beak of the male acquires a bright lemon-yellow color, while in the female it becomes brownish-black. Throughout the summer, the bright yellow color of the male's beak remains, but by autumn it becomes brown. With the onset of winter, it slowly brightens from the very beginning to the end, and closer to spring it returns to its former lemon-yellow color. Seasonal changes are reflected not only in the color of the beak, but also in the color scheme of the plumage itself. Due to the fact that starlings molt and new feathers grow with white spots along the edges, in autumn and winter they seem rich white due to the color of the feathers, but by spring they return to their black color.
