CreatureData

Grosbeak starling

Scissirostrum dubium (Latham, 1801)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium) is a species in the family Sturnidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 50 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium)
Photo: JJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the grosbeak starling

Weight
50 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the grosbeak starling live?

Not recorded

What is the grosbeak starling?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium), also known as the grosbeak myna, finch-billed myna, or scissor-billed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is monotypic in the genus Scissirostrum. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia, where its natural habitat is tropical lowland, and sometimes subtropical montane, lightly wooded forest areas and wetlands. It is threatened in the wild by habitat loss, and by birds being captured for the cagebird trade.

This species nests in colonies, which frequently contain hundreds of pairs. Its nests are bored in rotting or dying tree trunks in woodpecker style. It eats fruit, insects, and grain. Grosbeak starlings are highly vocal, at their colonies and in feeding flocks.

The grosbeak starling was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Lanius dubium.

New populations, derived from escaped cagebirds, have been found breeding in Kalimantan in Borneo, and in Java.

From the Wikipedia article “Grosbeak starling” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grosbeak_starling&oldid=1379919835), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the grosbeak starling endangered?

The grosbeak starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the grosbeak starling classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familySturnidae
  6. genusScissirostrum
  7. SpeciesScissirostrum dubium (Latham, 1801)

Synonyms Lanius dubius, Scissirostrum dubium dubium, Scissirostrum pagei

Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • Finch-billed mynaEnglish
  • Grosbeak mynaEnglish
  • Scissor-billed starlingEnglish
  • زرزور سميك المنقارArabic
  • estornell picotCatalan
  • špaček tlustozobýCzech
  • drudwen ylfinbraffWelsh
  • SmalnæbsstærDanish
  • FinkenschnabelstarGerman
  • dikbeka majnoEsperanto
  • Dikbeka minaoEsperanto
  • Estornino culipintoSpanish
  • celebesinkottarainenFinnish
  • Scissirostre des CélèbesFrench
  • debelokljuni čvorakCroatian
  • vastagcsőrű seregélyHungarian
  • Jalak tunggir-merahIndonesian
  • Maina fringillinaItalian
  • Storno beccogrossoItalian
  • シュウダンムクドリJapanese
  • didžiasnapis varnėnasLithuanian
  • RoodstuitspreeuwDutch
  • hakkestærNorwegian
  • szpakownikPolish
  • estorninho-de-bico-grossoPortuguese
  • Дубоносовый скворецRussian
  • majna hrubozobáSlovak
  • tjocknäbbad stareSwedish
  • Kocabaş ÇiğdecisiTurkish
  • майна товстодзьобаUkrainian
  • 雀嘴八哥Chinese
  • 雀嘴椋鳥〔臘嘴椋鳥〕Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the grosbeak starling

Other species in the same family Sturnidae.

LC, Least Concern
Common myna (Acridotheres tristis)

Common myna

Acridotheres tristis

Sturnidae

CR, Critically Endangered
Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi)

Bali starling

Leucopsar rothschildi

Sturnidae

CompareGrosbeak starling vs Common starlingGrosbeak starling vs Rosy starlingGrosbeak starling vs Common mynaGrosbeak starling vs Common hill myna

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the grosbeak starling?

An adult grosbeak starling weighs 50 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the grosbeak starling endangered?

The grosbeak starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the grosbeak starling?

The grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium) belongs to the family Sturnidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grosbeak-starling

MLA

“Grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grosbeak-starling.

BibTeX
@misc{grosbeak_starling_2026,
  title = {Grosbeak starling (Scissirostrum dubium)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grosbeak-starling},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}