Nepal, which boasts of its wide range of bird species (856) has recently added one more species to the list after bird expert Suchit Basnet of the Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) sighted the purple- backed starling-Sturnus sturninus at Koshi Tappu.

The starling was spotted for the first time on May 10 at Madhuban on the edge of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve.

The purple-backed starling, 19 cm in length, has a pale grey head, nape and underparts, a purplish- black mantle and glossy greenish black wings. It belongs to the Sturnidae family along with the myna and feeds on insects, fruits and berries.

The colorful starling is also found in Korea, China, Mongolia, Manchuria, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia. It is a vagrant in India and Pakistan.