Rarotonga starling
Aplonis cinerascens Hartlaub & Finsch, 1871
The rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens) is a species in the family Sturnidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 82 g to 82.9 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Near Threatened.
Quick facts about the rarotonga starling
- Weight
- 82.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the rarotonga starling live?
Not recorded
What is the rarotonga starling?
The Rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to only Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, and was rated as Vulnerable from 2000 up until 2023, when its status was changed to Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
From the Wikipedia article “Rarotonga starling” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rarotonga_starling&oldid=1383820530), 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 rarotonga starling endangered?
The rarotonga starling is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the rarotonga starling classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySturnidae
- genusAplonis
- SpeciesAplonis cinerascens Hartlaub & Finsch, 1871
Other names and names in other languages (28)
- estornell de l'illa RarotongaCatalan
- špaček rarotonžskýCzech
- drudwen RarotongaWelsh
- Rarotonga TræstærDanish
- RarotongastarGerman
- Rarotonga-StarGerman
- rarotonga sturnoEsperanto
- Estornino de RarotongaSpanish
- rarotongankottarainenFinnish
- Stourne de RarotongaFrench
- rarotonški čvorakCroatian
- rarotongai énekesseregélyHungarian
- Storno di RarotongaItalian
- ラロトンガカラスモドキJapanese
- Kuko aplonisLithuanian
- RarotongapurperspreeuwDutch
- rarotongastærNorwegian
- skworczyk szarawyPolish
- estorninho-de-rarotongaPortuguese
- Раротонгский аплонисRussian
- Раротонгский скворецRussian
- majna popolaváSlovak
- rarotongastareSwedish
- Rarotonga SığırcığıTurkish
- шпак-малюк раротонзькийUkrainian
- 拉岛辉椋鸟Chinese
- 庫克島輝椋鳥Chinese
- 拉島輝椋鳥Chinese
Relatives of the rarotonga starling
Other species in the same genus Aplonis.
Asian glossy starling
Aplonis panayensis
Metallic starling
Aplonis metallica
Polynesian starling
Aplonis tabuensis
Kosrae starling
Aplonis corvina
Micronesian starling
Aplonis opaca
Tasman starling
Aplonis fusca
CompareRarotonga starling vs Asian glossy starlingRarotonga starling vs Metallic starlingRarotonga starling vs Polynesian starlingRarotonga starling vs Kosrae starling
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the rarotonga starling?
An adult rarotonga starling weighs 82.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the rarotonga starling endangered?
The rarotonga starling is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is close to qualifying as threatened.
What kind of animal is the rarotonga starling?
The rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rarotonga-starling
“Rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rarotonga-starling.
@misc{rarotonga_starling_2026,
title = {Rarotonga starling (Aplonis cinerascens)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rarotonga-starling},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}