Striated starling

The striated starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia.

Taxonomy

The striated starling was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann [Friedrich Gmelin] in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the rollers in the genus Coracias and coined the binomial name Coracias striata. The specific epithet is from Latin striatus meaning "striated". Gmelin based his account on the "Blue-striped roller" that had been described and illustrated in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. The striated starling is now placed in the genus Aplonis that was introduced in 1836 by John Gould.
Two subspecies are recognised:A. s. striata – Grande [Terre (New Caledonia)|Grande Terre] and Isle of [Pines (New Caledonia)|Ile des Pins]s A. s. atronitens Gray, GR, 1859 – Ouvéa, Lifou and Maré