---
title: "Red-winged Starling"
description: "Onychognathus morio — Birds. The red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio) is a bird of the starling family Sturnidae native to eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/red-winged-starling
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Red-winged Starling

> Onychognathus morio — Birds. The red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio) is a bird of the starling family Sturnidae native to eastern and southern Africa from  Ethiopia to South Africa.

- Scientific name: *Onychognathus morio*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `mountains` (Mountains), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 7856
- Wikidata: [Q1588297](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1588297)
- iNaturalist taxon: [204554](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/204554)

## Names

- en: Red-winged Starling
- de: Rotschwingenstar
- es: Estornino Alirrojo
- fr: Rufipenne morio
- nl: Roodvleugelspreeuw
- pl: Czarnotek rudoskrzydły

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (6692), KE (216), ZW (213), TZ (156), ZM (89), ET (36), MW (28), SZ (23), BW (19), LS (11), MZ (8), ER (5)

## Summary

The red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio) is a bird of the starling family Sturnidae native to eastern and southern Africa from  Ethiopia to South Africa. An omnivorous, generalist species, it prefers cliffs and mountainous areas for nesting, and has moved into cities and towns due to similarity to its original habitat.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-winged_starling

## Photo

![Red-winged Starling](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/red-winged-starling/medium.jpg)

Photo: Philipp Hoenle · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/275938534

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/red-winged-starling?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).