• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note

Spodiopsar cineraceus (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously listed as Sturnus cineraceus.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	83 g

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,720,000 km2
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	3,940,000 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	unknown	-	-	-
Generation length	3.62 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as very common in Japan and common in China (Feare and Craig 1998), while national population estimates include: c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs, c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in China; c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration and c.1,000-10,000 wintering individuals in Taiwan; c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs in Korea; c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and c.50-1,000 wintering individuals in Japan and c.10,000-100,000 breeding pairs and c.1,000-10,000 individuals on migration in Russia (Brazil 2009). The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.

Trend justification: The population trend is difficult to determine because of uncertainty over the impacts of habitat modification on population sizes.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
China (mainland)	extant	native
Hong Kong (China)	extant	native			yes
Japan	extant	native
Laos	extant	vagrant			yes
Mongolia	extant	native
Myanmar	extant	vagrant			yes
North Korea	extant	native		yes
Northern Mariana Islands (to USA)	extant	vagrant
Philippines	extant	vagrant			yes
Russia	extant	native
Russia (Asian)	extant	native
South Korea	extant	native
Taiwan, China	extant	native
Thailand	extant	vagrant			yes
Vietnam	extant	native			yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
North Korea	Mount Kuwol
North Korea	Mount Myohyang
Russia (Asian)	Udyl' lake

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Plantations	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	breeding
Forest	Boreal	suitable	breeding
Altitude	0 - 1970 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	subsistence, national

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: White-cheeked Starling Spodiopsar cineraceus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/white-cheeked-starling-spodiopsar-cineraceus on 23/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/12/2024.