American Samoa Territorial Bird
Samoan Starling (common name)  Aplonis atrifusca (scientific name) Overview The Samoan starling is a large, dark brown bird with a long bill. Male and female birds are similar in appearance. The primary diet of these birds is a variety of nectars, fruit (guava, mamala, nonu, lau pata, mati figs), insects, caterpillars, and lizards. Samoan starlings search for food through open-bill probing, which involves using the bill to dig into dense vegetation. They build nests on the hollows of trees, especially coconut trunks, as well as telephone poles and the tops of coconut trees. The starlings produce various whistles and other calls. While the territory has no official bird, this starling is found only in American Samoa and the nation of Samoa and is thus a good representative of the region. Close-up STATUS Unofficial ALSO KNOWN AS Mocker, American nightingale PHYSICAL DETAILS    Male Female  Size Length to end of tail: 12 in (30 cm) Wing from flexure: 12.6 in (32 cm) Length to end of tail: 12 in (30 cm) Wing from flexure: 12.6 in (32 cm) BEHAVIOR Samoan starlings are gregarious birds that assemble and live in flocks. HABITAT Tropical moist lowland forests, plantations, and small villages on volcanic islands. Range: American Samoa and Samoa Migration: non-migratory Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) NESTING Nesting Period: Year-round Egg Description: Pale blue SIMILAR SPECIES Polynesian starling (miti vao), Rarotonga starling TRIVIA Samoans refer to the bird as fuia. Farmers find fuia to be very useful since the birds get rid of agricultural pests on the farm. Samoan starlings have been featured on many Samoan stamps.
	Click to enlarge an image Stamp Featuring Samoan Starling CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae Genus: Aplonis Species: A. atrifusca
	Author: World Trade Press