Part 107

The NAMRU2 party found the starling to be numerous at Truk and at Ulithi in 1945. At both places the natives make use of the birds as food. At Truk, McElroy found a larger number of birds in immature plumage than that of birds in adult plumage. Similar observations have been made at several other islands in Micronesia.

At Ulithi, the NAMRU2 party found the starling at all islands in the atoll visited in 1945. The bird was more numerous at the islands of Potangeras and Mangejang, and less numerous at the island of Losiep; the former two islands were occupied--at the time of the visit in 1945--by service personnel and the vegetation was disturbed, whereas Losiep was uninhabited and rarely visited by people. I attribute the smaller population of starlings at Losiep to the fact that on this island the large monitor lizard, Varanus indicus, was numerous while at Potangeras and Mangejang it was apparently entirely absent. These large lizards depend principally on the birds, rodents, and insects for their food supply. At Potangeras the rat Rattus exulans was exceedingly numerous, while at Losiep no sign of rodents was found nor were any taken in traps set during the daytime.

=Aplonis opacus kurodai= Momiyama

Micronesian Starling

Aplonis kittlitzi kurodai Momiyama, Tori, 2, 1920, p. 1. (Type locality, Yap.)

Calornis kittlitzi Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 100 (Uap); Gräffe, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 2, 1873, p. 123 (Yap); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 24 (Yap); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Yap).

Calornis pacificus Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, p. 32 (Yap).

Aplonis kittlitzi Wiglesworth, Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Yap); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 216 (Yap); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Yap); Bolau (part), Mitteil. Naturhist. Mus. Hamburg, 1898, p. 62 (Yap); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 49, 1901, p. 112 (Yap); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 64 (Yap).

Aplonis opaca kurodai Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 11 (Yap); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 71 (Yap); Mathews, Syst. Avium Australasianarum, 2, 1930, p. 848 (Yap); Hand-list Japanese Birds, rev., 1932, p. 170 (Yap).

Aplonis opaca kurodai Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu, Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 458 (Yap?); Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 188 (Yap).

Aplonis opacus kurodai Mayr, Birds Southwest Pacific, 1945, p. 297 (Yap); Baker, Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 107, no. 15, 1948, p. 71 (Yap).

Geographic range.--Micronesia: Caroline Islands--Yap.

Characters.--Adult: According to Momiyama (1922:11), "Similar to A. o. anga from Ruk group, but the bill thicker (9-10.5 mm.; that of the latter 8.5-9.5 mm.) and much longer (24-27.5 mm.; that of the latter 21.5-25 mm.) and the wing also longer in average (119.5-130 mm. instead of 116.5-129.5 mm.). It differs from typical opaca by the edge of feathers of both body sides very distinctly tinged with a bronzy-green lustre, by the bill being longer and thicker (in typical opaca exposed culmen 21.5-24.5 mm., depth of bill 9-9.5 mm.)."

Immature: "Similar to the immature of the typical form, but both sides of body somewhat deeper in colour and the edge of feathers distinctly tinged with lustrous bronzy-green. It differs from the same stage of A. o. anga by the under-parts being without pale-yellowish area." Momiyama (1922:11).

Young: "Similar to the young of typical bird, but differs from it by the mantle being very faintly tinged with bronzy-green and by the under-parts being somewhat tinged with brown. In the same stage of the typical form, the under-parts are much more greyish-ashy in colour." Momiyama (1922:11).

Remarks.--No specimens have been examined. Momiyama (1920:1) regarded the birds at Yap and at Saipan as A. o. kurodai. Later (1922:10) he separated the birds at Saipan as A. o. harterti, remarking that the birds from Saipan differ "from A. o. kurodai Momiyama from Yap islands, by the green lustre on both sides of body being less distinct and showing tendency to a purplish lustre, by the bill being decidedly shorter, and by the same thickness."

Price (1936a:19) describes a method by which starlings and other birds are captured by the natives of Yap. The natives make slashes in the trunk of a breadfruit tree and allow the exuding juice to harden. This material is then chewed until soft and adhesive. It is then placed on a stick which has been secured directly under a papaya fruit. When the birds alight on this perch, they become stuck and are captured.

=Aplonis opacus orii= (Takatsukasa and Yamashina)

Micronesian Starling

Aplornis opaca orii Takatsukasa and Yamashina, Dobutsu. Zasshi, 43, 1931, p. 458. (Type locality, Coror, Pelew Islands.)

Calornis kittlitzii Hartlaub and Finsch, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868, pp. 7, 117, 118 (Pelew).

Calornis opaca Gray (part), Hand-list Birds, 2, 1870, p. 27 (Pelew).

Calornis kittlitzi Hartlaub and Finsch (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1872, p. 89 (Pelew); Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 8, 1875, pp. 5, 23 (Palau); Schmeltz and Krause (part), Ethnogr. Abth. Mus. Godeffroy, 1881, p. 298 (Palau).

Calornis kittlitzi Kubary, Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 4, 1873, p. 225 (Palau-Inseln).

Calornis pacificus Finsch (part), Journ. Mus. Godeffroy, 12, 1876, pp. 17, 32 (Palau); idem (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1880, p. 289 (Palau); idem (part), Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1880, p. 576 (Palau); idem (part). Ibis, 1881, p. 111 (Pelew).

Aplonis kittlitzi Wiglesworth (part), Abhandl. und Ber. Zool. Mus. Dresden, no. 6, 1890-1891 (1891), p. 44 (Pelew); Oustalet (part), Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, (3), 7, 1895, p. 212 (Palaos); Hartert (part), Novit. Zool., 5, 1898, p. 58 (Pelew); Matschie (part), Journ. f. Ornith., 1901, p. 112 (Palau); Takatsukasa and Kuroda (part), Tori, 1, 1915, p. 55 (Pelew).

Aplonis opaca subsp nov.? Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 13 (Pelew); Kuroda, in Momiyama, Birds Micronesia, 1922, p. 72 (Pelew).

Aplornis opaca orii Hand-list Japanese Birds, 3d ed., 1942, p. 188 (Babelthuap, Koror, Peliliu, Anguar).