NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pohnpei Starling
Aplonis pelzelni Finsch, 1876
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Aplonis pelzelni Finsch, 1876
Finsch, 1876 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Pohnpei starling (Aplonis pelzelni), also known as Pohnpei mountain starling or Ponape mountain starling, is an extremely rare or possibly extinct bird from the family of starlings (Sturnidae). It is (or was) endemic to the island of Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia) in the Pacific Ocean. It was called "sie" (pronounced see-ah) by the Pohnpei islanders. It was named after the Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln (1825–1891).
Wikipedia contributors, Pohnpei starling; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:35:43.030061+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aplonis pelzelni Finsch, 1876
- Name authority
- Finsch, 1876
- Common name
- Pohnpei Starling
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Aplonis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familySturnidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusAplonis Gould, 1836
- speciesAplonis pelzelni Finsch, 1876
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aplonis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Atoll StarlingAplonis feadensis (E. P. Ramsay, 1882) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Long-tailed StarlingAplonis magna (Schlegel, 1871) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Samoan StarlingAplonis atrifusca (Peale, 1849) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-eyed StarlingAplonis brunneicapillus (Danis, 1938) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rarotonga StarlingAplonis cinerascens Hartlaub & Finsch, 1871 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Violet-hooded StarlingAplonis circumscripta (A. B. Meyer, 1884) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Kosrae Mountain StarlingAplonis corvina (Kittlitz, 1833) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Tasman StarlingAplonis fusca Gould, 1836 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Brown-winged StarlingAplonis grandis (Salvadori, 1881) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mauke StarlingAplonis mavornata Buller, 1887 | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Metallic StarlingAplonis metallica (Temminck, 1824) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Moluccan StarlingAplonis mysolensis (G. R. Gray, 1862) | SturnidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Finsch, & Friedrich Hermann Otto. (1876). Characters of Six new Polynesian Birds in the Museum Godeffroy, at Hamburg. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Vol. 43. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:FPJN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.