Yesterday afternoon I spent an hour at Sri Nakorn Kuan Kan park in Bangkok. The humidity was quite uncomfortable and clear weather did not seem to be the right recipe for migrating birds to land with just a couple of Hair-crested Drongos, an Ashy Drongo, 1 Asian Brown Flycatcher and a Black-naped Oriole. However, for the first time in this park I saw a pair of Black-collared Starlings; I was alerted to their presence by their rather discordant singing.

Recently some visiting birders mentioned to me that although Black-collared Starling’s range map in Robson’s Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand covers most of the country they had not seen even one! Casting my mind back it occurred to me that this species used to be rather more common in the central region and while it remains common in farmland habitats in northern Thailand, it may be in decline in and around Bangkok.

Over the year I have seen small numbers of Black-collared Starling in the city, in parks and gardens, as well as a few locations around the edges of the city; in fact I remember seeing it frequently in farmland around the entrance of Kaeng Krachan national park in the past, but not now for some years. Within Bangkok itself numbers of this species seem to be at their highest in the Dusit area; I suppose because their are some number of old buildings with extensive gardens attached to them.

Another good site for Black-collared Starling has always been Lumphini park in the city centre, with a few pairs always present there and it is highly likely that the pair I found in Sri Nakorn Kuan Kan park has been displaced from Lumphini by the large numbers of people camped out there at the moment, protesting against the government. Eventually the protest will disperse, I wonder if the starlings will go back or stay at their new home?