Alpine accentor Alpine accentor The alpine accentor ("Prunella collaris") is a small passerine bird. The word "accentor" is from post-classical Latin and means a person who sings with another. The genus name "Prunella" is from the German "Braunelle", "dunnock", a diminutive of "braun", "brown", and the specific "collaris" is from Latin "collum", "neck". This species, along with the Altai accentor is sometimes separated from the other accentors, into the genus "Laiscopus". This is a robin-sized bird at 15-17.5 cm in length, slightly larger than its relative, the dunnock. It has a streaked brown back, somewhat resembling a house sparrow, but adults have
Common starling Common starling The common starling ("Sturnus vulgaris"), also known as the European starling, or in the British Isles just the starling, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry