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| Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis |
On May 6th I
spotted a pair of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings that appeared to be nest-building
in a metal telephone pole. As I was on a
moving bus at the time, I returned to the rural location on the 7th
to investigate further. What I found was
on a more extensive scale than a single nesting pair. Three pairs of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings,
along with an additional female, were in the process of nesting in three
adjacent telephone poles. They were also
engaged in a fierce but strangely civil battle for territorial dominance with
both Tree Sparrows, and Azure-winged Magpies.
The male and female
starlings took turns bringing in nesting materials, catching flying insects in
spectacular mid-air forays, and
standing guard. After a strange
stand-off that saw three sparrows calmly lined up on the wires next to three
starlings, the starlings conceded defeat at this one telephone pole, and flew
down the line to the next available telephone pole. The Tree Sparrows were then seen bringing
food into the captured (liberated?) post-hole. Two passing Azure-winged Magpies seemed to take exception to a pair of
perched starlings, and made an aggressive and showy pass that failed to scare
off the nesters.
This record of
Chestnut-cheeked Starlings attempting to nest is significant, as they have only
bred in Korea perhaps once or twice previously. I will keep
tabs on this site closely, with hopes of seeing some fledgelings soon.
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