Wattled starling
Creatophora cinerea (Meuschen, 1787)
The wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea) is a species in the family Sturnidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 69.3 g to 74.6 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the wattled starling
- Weight
- 69.3 g – 74.6 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the wattled starling live?
Not recorded
What is the wattled starling?
The wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea) is a nomadic resident bird in eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of grassland, open woodland, and cultivation.
This is the only African starling that appears to show affinities with the Asian starlings, particularly the genus Sturnus. Its bare face patches and ability to open-bill feed in grassland are unique amongst African starlings. It is the only member of the genus Creatophora.
This common species appears to be extending its range into West Africa and has also occurred in Arabia, Madagascar, and Seychelles.
From the Wikipedia article “Wattled starling” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wattled_starling&oldid=1379927282), 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 wattled starling endangered?
The wattled starling is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species.
How is the wattled starling classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySturnidae
- genusCreatophora
- SpeciesCreatophora cinerea (Meuschen, 1787)
Synonyms Creatophora carunculata, Creatophora cineracea, Gracula carunculata, Rallus cinereus, Sturnus gallinaceus
Other names and names in other languages (40)
- WASTEnglish
- BelletjieAfrikaans
- LelspreeuAfrikaans
- SprinkaanvoëlAfrikaans
- VaalspreeuAfrikaans
- زرزور رماديArabic
- زرزور ذو اللغدArabic
- estornell carunculatCatalan
- špaček laločnatýCzech
- drudwen dagellogWelsh
- LappestærDanish
- LappenstarGerman
- karunkla sturnoEsperanto
- Estornino carunculadoSpanish
- helttakottarainenFinnish
- Martin caronculéFrench
- Etourneau caronculéFrench
- Étourneau caronculéFrench
- Druid chliathachIrish
- sivi čvorakCroatian
- lebenyes seregélyHungarian
- SprettustariIcelandic
- Storno caruncolatoItalian
- トサカムクドリJapanese
- raguotasis varnėnasLithuanian
- sekstainais strazdsLatvian
- LelspreeuwDutch
- flikstærNorwegian
- szpak ozdobnyPolish
- estorninho-carunculadoPortuguese
- Рогатый скворецRussian
- Бородатый скворецRussian
- škorec laločnatýSlovak
- Resasti čvorakSerbian
- flikstareSwedish
- İbikli SığırcıkTurkish
- PonyaneTswana
- шпак жовтоголовийUkrainian
- 肉垂椋鳥Chinese
- 肉垂椋鸟Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the wattled starling
Other species in the same family Sturnidae.

Common starling
Sturnus vulgaris

Rosy starling
Pastor roseus

Common myna
Acridotheres tristis

Common hill myna
Gracula religiosa

Bali starling
Leucopsar rothschildi

Violet-backed starling
Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
CompareWattled starling vs Common starlingWattled starling vs Rosy starlingWattled starling vs Common mynaWattled starling vs Common hill myna
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the wattled starling?
An adult wattled starling weighs 69.3 g – 74.6 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the wattled starling endangered?
The wattled 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 wattled starling?
The wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea) 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). Wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-starling
“Wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-starling.
@misc{wattled_starling_2026,
title = {Wattled starling (Creatophora cinerea)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/wattled-starling},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}